OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the 2012 Olympics on public health.

Tessa Jowell: The 2012 games are our best chance in a generation to encourage people to be more active. We will set out clear targets and initiatives for increasing participation in sport and physical activity in the forthcoming Legacy Action Plan.
	Several regional physical activity networks working on behalf of the Department of Health have commissioned a review of the health and physical activity benefits from hosting previous Olympic games and other major sporting events and the potential benefits to the UK from hosting the 2012 games. This work is being carried out by the Centre for Sport, Education and Activity Research at Canterbury Christ Church university. Findings from the research will provide recommendations on how best we can use the 2012 games to inspire, engage and encourage people to lead healthier and more active lifestyles.

WALES

Bus Services: Concessions

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to facilitate the cross-border application of concessionary bus passes; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The implementation of any cross- border concessionary travel arrangements is a matter for the Welsh Assembly Government, local authorities, and the Department for Transport. I have asked officials to keep me informed of developments in this area.
	The Concessionary Bus Travel Act (2007) came into force at the start of this month and implements a concessionary scheme in England. The Welsh scheme has been in place since 2002.
	A fully reciprocal UK-wide scheme would require secondary legislation to be put in place and at present the focus of the Act is to ensure a successful introduction of the new England-wide concession.
	English and Welsh local authorities are currently able to come to individual agreements with bus companies for their residents to use their passes for cross-border travel as they see fit.

Departmental Public Participation

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many public consultations were held by his Department in the last three years; and how many respondents took part in the process for each consultation.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office has held two public consultations in the last three years. The first consultation on the "Better Governance of Wales" White Paper received 82 respondents. The other relating to the Government's 2007 Draft Legislative programme (as part of the wider consultation by the Cabinet Office) received 18 respondents.

TRANSPORT

Foreign-registered Lorries

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will bring forward a proposal for a scheme under which foreign-registered lorries pay to use the network.

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will bring forward a proposal for a scheme under which foreign-registered lorries pay to use the highway network.

Jim Fitzpatrick: As announced in Budget 2008, the Government will not be progressing a vignette scheme of the type raised by the hon. Gentlemen, at this stage.
	However, in the last two years alone, we have more than doubled enforcement targeted on heavy goods vehicles on international journeys, and we have just announced a £24 million package to allow the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) to increase their safety checks by a further 50 per cent. This means 97 more enforcement staff, 24/7 checking at key sites, and new enforcement sites which should lead to a near doubling of prohibitions through 75,000 more checks being carried out.

Rail Services: Chelmsford to Liverpool Street Line

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the quality of service on the Chelmsford to Liverpool Street railway line.

Tom Harris: Passenger surveys are undertaken by Passenger Focus rather than the Department. The results of the latest National Passenger Survey were published on 24 January 2008. They show an overall satisfaction of 75 per cent. for National Express East Anglia passengers. This compares with a national overall satisfaction of 81 per cent.

Railways: Capacity Enhancement

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of the merits of capacity enhancement on the rail network.

Tom Harris: Rail passenger numbers continue to grow. The Rail White Paper, which we published in July 2007, described how the Government intend to work with the industry to ensure that the network can cater for that growth. At the heart of our plans is the £10 billion that we have committed to spend on enhancing rail capacity between 2009 and 2014.

Rail Fares: Effects on Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effects of levels of rail fares on levels of carbon dioxide emissions from transport.

Tom Harris: Last autumn we published the discussion document "Towards a Sustainable Transport System". In it we announced our intention to look at the full range of options—including pricing—for putting transport on to a less carbon-intensive path. We expect to publish our analysis by spring next year.

Integrated Transport: Northern England

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken to improve the integrated transport infrastructure in the North West and other Northern regions.

Rosie Winterton: Total public sector transport spend across the three northern regions was over £3.5 billion in 2006-07, 66 per cent. higher than in 2001-02.
	The total spend in the North West increased by 76 per cent. over the same period. Over the next three years, local authorities across the north are benefiting from £1.35 billion of Local Transport Plan funding.

European Mobility Week

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans her Department has to mark European Mobility Week 2008.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has no plans directly to mark European Mobility Week 2008. We fund the London European Partnership for Transport (LEPT) to represent us on sustainable transport issues in Europe.

Road Congestion: West Yorkshire

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to reduce road congestion in West Yorkshire.

Rosie Winterton: In 2006, the Department for Transport agreed an urban congestion target with the West Yorkshire Transport Authority.
	We have also provided West Yorkshire with £210 million of funding to support local transport improvements over the next three years.

Terminal 5

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent reports she has received on the operation of Heathrow Terminal 5.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport has been in regular contact with both British Airways (BA) and British Airports Authority (BAA) since T5 opened to monitor the situation and offer assistance and I visited the terminal on its first weekend of operation to see the situation at first hand.
	The Secretary of State has made clear that she expects BA and BAA to continue to work together to resolve any remaining problems and also to agree a realistic timetable for the move of BA's long haul operations so that as little disruption as possible is caused to their own passengers and to those from other airlines.

A417

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with the Highways Agency on improvements to the A417 in the Nettleton Bottom and Crickley Hill areas of Gloucestershire; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: On 12 March 2008 the Highways Agency informed me of the results of the review into the possibility of a lower cost solution to address the problems between Cowley and Brockworth on the A417 in Gloucestershire.
	The hon. Gentleman will also know that this matter was fully debated last night at the A417 Improvement Scheme Adjournment Debate, secured by the hon. Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown).
	The HA concluded that the original major scheme 'the brown route' remains the optimal solution.

Aircraft Engine Lubricants: Risks to Passengers and Crew

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment she has made of potential health risks to airline passengers and crew from vapour emanating from engine lubricants.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Studies such as the European CabinAir project have shown that normally the levels of chemical and biological contaminants in aircraft are less than in many ground based work environments. The independent Committee on Toxicity completed a substantial review of evidence in September 2007 and concluded that it did not establish (or rule out) a link between cabin air and pilot ill health. The Committee recommended research to sample cabin air during 'fume events', which it estimated occur on 0.05 per cent. of flights overall. Such sampling has not been done before. The Government accepted the recommendation and has begun work to develop the methodology. Details are on the Department for Transport website.

Airport Expansion

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the expansion of Heathrow airport and London City airport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has received many thousands of responses to the "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport" consultation which examined a number of Heathrow expansion issues. This closed on 27 February and all the responses are currently being analysed. We expect to take policy decisions later this year.
	London City airport has submitted a planning application to Newham council to increase the number of flights from its current level. In view of the Secretary of State's quasi-judicial role in the planning process, it would not be appropriate to comment on the merits or otherwise of this application.

Concessionary Bus Travel: North Yorkshire

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations she has received on the implementation of the national concessionary bus fare scheme in North Yorkshire.

Rosie Winterton: Members and local councillors have made representations regarding concessionary travel in North Yorkshire. In addition, the Department received representations from local authorities in Harrogate, Ryedale and York in response to the consultation last autumn on the formula distribution for the special grant for the new England-wide concession, implemented on 1 April.

Left-hand Drive Heavy Goods Vehicles: Safety

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government are taking to improve the safety record of left-hand drive heavy goods vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We are continuing to increase the level of enforcement activity undertaken by the Department's Vehicle and Operator Services Agency targeted against heavy commercial vehicles on international journeys. We have made significant additional funding available to VOSA for this purpose over the last couple of years, and we will be adding a further £24 million over the next three years. This means 97 extra enforcement staff, 24/7 checking at key sites, as well as two additional check sites, all leading to around 75,000 additional checks.
	We will also be adding a significant new deterrent against non-compliance with the introduction of 'on-the-spot financial penalties' early next year. This will mean that non-UK-resident offenders will—at last—be facing similar enforcement action to that taken against UK vehicle operators and to that which has been taken by other member states against UK drivers for many years.

Bus Services Operators' Grant

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to consult interested parties as part of the review of the Bus Services Operators' Grant.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We published on 13 March a consultation document, "Local Bus Service Support—Options for Reform", on proposed changes to Bus Service Operators Grant to align it more closely with environmental objectives and improve bus services.
	We look forward to receiving the views of interested parties; the closing date for responses is 5 June.

Facilities for Cyclists

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department has taken to encourage the provision of facilities for cyclists by local authorities and other employers.

Ruth Kelly: I recently announced record funding of £140 million to Cycling England to support local authorities and others to improve cycling provision.
	The Department has also asked local authorities to develop cycling strategies through their local transport plans.

Pricing Mechanisms: Modes of Travel

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on the use of pricing mechanisms to influence mode of travel.

Rosie Winterton: The Government's policy was set out by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in "Towards a Sustainable Transport System".
	This will be further developed in the Green and White Papers that will be brought before this house over the next 12 months. This process includes significant consultation with key stakeholders and the representatives of the consumers of transport services.

Cars: Research

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has  (a) conducted and  (b) evaluated research on the most economical average speed for cars.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has not conducted or evaluated research specifically on this subject. However our programme of vehicle emissions testing to develop 'emissions factors' for the purposes of national emissions inventory modelling does include measuring carbon dioxide emissions (and hence fuel economy) under a range of different types of driving condition. These include testing under relatively constant speed driving conditions from around 58 miles per hour to 70 miles per hour. The results from these tests show carbon dioxide emissions increasing over this speed range. In deriving emissions factors, our contractors also consider the results of similar research conducted elsewhere in the EU.
	The Department does not have carbon dioxide emissions data for constant speeds below 58 miles per hour; however emissions would be expected to decrease at lower constant speeds.
	The emissions factors characterise emissions against average driving speed. Below 58 miles per hour the characteristics are based on driving patterns featuring accelerations and decelerations rather than constant speed driving.

Railways: Scotland

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent progress has been made on plans for a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Tom Harris: Improvements to the West Coast Main Line are already delivering faster journeys between England and Scotland—and completing the West Coast upgrade will lead to further improvements in both capacity and journey times.
	But we are also planning for the longer term. That is why we have asked Network Rail to lead work on options for the future, including the possibility of new lines.

Roads

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the primary route network in England was last fully reviewed; when she next intends to review it to reflect the effects of changes in places of economic and social importance on traffic importance; and what criteria are set for the network to ensure that it is appropriate and that its operation is effective.

Tom Harris: The Primary Route Network (PRN) is a national network which exists to aid navigation for long-distance traffic. It connects Primary Route Destinations in England and comprises all non-motorway trunk roads and the most important local roads.
	A review of the Primary Route Network took place in the mid-1980s. The Regional Offices of the Department for Transport (as it then was) conducted the review in consultation with county highway authorities.
	The approval of minor alterations to the PRN is delegated to the Government Offices for the Regions (changes where there are no implications for signage beyond the immediate section of the road which is subject to the change). Where a Government Office wants a major change to the network or change to the primary destinations this must be approved by the Department for Transport centrally. The criteria used to set the network are that the Primary Routes must be the most satisfactory routes for through traffic between places of traffic importance in the opinion of the Secretary of State (although for non-trunk roads this opinion will be formed after consultation with the traffic authority for the road).
	We currently have no plans to undertake a fundamental review of the current Primary Route Network but in taking forward our proposals for improving our longer-term strategic transport planning processes, as set out in Towards a Sustainable Transport System, we will of course ensure coherence between the long-term planning for our strategic national transport networks, and the Primary Route Network.

Trains

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 97W, on trains, in what specific ways her Department plans to be involved in the specification process for the intercity express programme train; and what specific advantages she expects this involvement to bring.

Tom Harris: We have developed the business case, led engagement with the industry, prepared rolling stock and service specifications, developed tender documents and are leading the procurement process.
	This involvement ensures the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) provides best whole-life value for money; optimising across train, maintenance and infrastructure; deals with long-term capacity requirements including best use of existing rolling stock; and secures the all-industry collaboration needed to deliver the right result for passengers.
	There is a good business case for the Intercity Express Programme, delivering better value for money and more benefits than would be the case if the Department for Transport left this to the industry alone to pursue.

Transport: Exhaust Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the likely volume of carbon dioxide emissions from  (a) road traffic and  (b) domestic aviation in (i) 2010, (ii) 2015 and (iii) 2025.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The requested estimates of carbon dioxide emissions are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  In million tonnes of CO 2 
			   2010  2015  2025 
			 Road transport 115.5 117.2 112.3 
			 Domestic aviation 2.6 2.5 3.2 
		
	
	For road traffic, we have applied the forecast percentage change in CO2 emissions between 2003 and 2010, 2015 and 2025 from the Department's National Transport Model to DEFRA's official CO2 inventory data for 2003. For domestic aviation we have supplied estimates under central assumptions of demand growth and fuel efficiency.
	These forecasts are in the absence of further policy measures and are consistent with what was announced in the Energy White Paper (2007). Further detail of the assumptions and policies underlying the road forecasts is available from:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/economics/ntm/071023_Annual Forecast07.pdf
	Further details of the approach used for the aviation forecasts can be found in "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 forecasts" published by the DfT in November 2007:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/airpassdemandfullreport.pdf

West Coast Railway Line

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will review her policy on the provision of additional carriages for services on the West Coast Main Line.

Tom Harris: No. An examination has already been made of the options available to Government to secure additional accommodation on the Pendolino trains. I am satisfied that the proposed way forward, led by the Department, represents best value of money, the fastest way to deliver the required capacity and compliance with relevant legislation.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Carbon Monoxide: Alarms

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Housing Corporation to (i) social landlords and (ii) local authorities on the use of carbon monoxide alarms in (A) residential care, (B) sheltered housing and (C) social housing in the last five years.

Iain Wright: There has been no guidance specifically for targeted towards social landlords relating to the use of carbon monoxide alarms. However, in 2006 the Housing Health and Safety Rating System came into force for all housing, including social housing. The guidance associated with this system contains advice on the use of carbon monoxide alarms.
	The Housing Corporation regulates by means of the regulatory code which sets out the fundamental obligations on Housing Associations in meeting the Corporation's regulatory requirements. Under the code, housing associations are required to comply with the law, and to ensure that "the homes their residents live in are well maintained and in a lettable condition". The issue of detailed guidance on maintenance or health and safety issues does not form part of the Corporation's duties. The Corporation would however, expect associations to adopt and follow best practice issued by the relevant agencies, e.g. the Health and Safety Executive.

Construction: Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government has taken to reduce illegal construction since 1997.

Iain Wright: holding answer 27 March 2008
	The Government take the issue of illegal construction (i.e. construction undertaken without proper planning permission or building control approval) very seriously and aims to ensure that the building control and planning systems support local authorities in identifying and dealing with illegal construction activities effectively.
	The 2006 planning enforcement review confirmed that local planning authorities had sufficient enforcement powers to deal with breaches of planning control.
	There are penalties for developers who commence or complete development prior to obtaining planning permission. In practice, anyone who undertakes development without first obtaining the necessary permission puts the investment at considerable risk, especially in the case of a building which may subsequently have to be demolished. Alternatively, they may find themselves subject to a summary penalty on conviction of an enforcement notice or stop notice offence. The maximum penalty in the magistrates court is £20,000 and there is no upper limit on the penalty which the Crown Court may impose on conviction.
	Since 2005, local planning authorities can also now serve a temporary stop notice. The temporary stop notice enables the local planning authority to require a breach of planning control to stop immediately for a period of 28 days, during which the local planning authority can decide whether to take further enforcement action. In addition to enforcement notices, stop notices and temporary stop notices, authorities may also apply for a planning injunction in the High Court or county court, to restrain an actual or expected breach of planning control. Once an injunction has been granted, anyone who fails to comply with its terms risks imprisonment.
	In the case of building control, local authorities work with builders to identify where the work they are undertaking does not comply with the building regulations and resolve any issues. However, where enforcement action is necessary they have a range of enforcement options available to them such as serving enforcement notices and fines through the courts.
	To support local authorities' enforcement efforts, legislation came into force on 6 April which extended the time limit from six months to two years for local authorities to prosecute offenders for breaches relating to energy efficiency requirements. This will be widened to cover all breaches of the building regulations as soon as possible. We are also consulting on extending the time limits in other areas, for instance the issuing of an enforcement notice requiring non-compliant work to be pulled down or rectified.
	The current consultation on the Future of Building Control proposes a further range of enforcement mechanisms to prevent illegal work from going ahead such as stop notices and fixed monetary penalties. There are also proposals to help industry forward plan and comply with the building regulations by moving towards a more planned approach to building regulation and to free up more time and resources for local authorities to focus on high-risk building work.

Disabled

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets her Department has set in relation to its employment of people with disabilities over the next five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Currently 6.1 per cent. of Communities staff have reported a disability, based on a diversity data completion rate of 74 per cent. In March 2008, we set an aspirational target to increase this figure to 8 per cent. of staff by end March 2009, based on London work force data as published by the London Assembly. However, we have moderated our target to account for a large proportion of our recruitment being cross-civil service rather than external.
	On 31 March 2008 we achieved the 10 Point Diversity Plan cross-Government target for disabled staff in the senior civil service (SCS). The target was set by Cabinet Office as 3.2 per cent., which we exceeded with 4.7 per cent. of our SCS reporting a disability, based on a SCS reporting level of 77 per cent.
	This result will be reported to Cabinet Office in due course, who are expected to confirm and publish the figures in the coming year. We will also assist in the drafting of a new 10 Point Diversity Plan, which will build on these results and set revised targets for all Government Departments.

Energy: Conservation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what energy efficiency increases she has required to be achieved by the Bridging Newcastle Gateshead Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder.

Iain Wright: Bridging Newcastle Gateshead has not been set any specific energy efficiency targets. However, it will be expected to adhere to implementing energy efficiency standards, environmental sustainability and eco-design in its programme as set out in its business plan for 2008-11. On a wider front, the Government have set out an ambitious timetable with the aim of achieving zero carbon new homes by 2016, including the progressive tightening of building regulations in 2010 and 2013.

Homelessness: Immigration

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has to assess  (a) levels of and  (b) trends in homelessness among immigrants from (i) A8 countries and (ii) non-EU countries.

Iain Wright: The information requested is as follows.
	 Statutory homelessness
	Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly at local authority level. This information includes the number of households accepted by local authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty. The duty owed to an accepted household is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
	(i) A8 nationals
	Information about decisions taken under the homelessness legislation for A8 (and more recently A2) headed households is published quarterly, on CLG's Housing Statistics website in "Live Tables".
	Table 629 contains data on A8 households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, including the reason for eligibility, from May 2004 onwards:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1141674
	Data for 2007 show that 425 A8-headed households were accepted as being owed the main homelessness duty, comprising 0.7 per cent. of the total acceptances over the same period. The quality of A8 foreign national data submitted is improving, and we are working with local authorities to continue this improvement.
	(ii) Non-EU nationals
	We are also working with local authorities to obtain better information on numbers of homelessness decisions and acceptances for other, non-EU foreign nationals on the P1E statutory homelessness form. These figures will be published as soon we are satisfied that both the response rate and quality of the data reported is sufficiently robust.
	 Rough sleeping
	Local authorities who conduct rough sleeper counts collect information on any individuals sleeping rough, and these are published annually on our website. These figures include those from EU accession states and other countries, but a breakdown of nationality is not provided.

Housing: Construction

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of Lifetime Homes on the plot size of new homes; and what discussions she has had with  (a) the house building industry and  (b) disability organisations on this matter.

Iain Wright: In 'Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society', published by CLG in February 2008, we stated that we would review the take up of Lifetime Homes Standards in all sectors in 2010 with a view to bringing forward regulation in 2013 if take up has not matched expectations.
	While our assessment of the effect of the introduction of Lifetime Homes on the plot size of new homes was informed by findings from 'Designed for Manufacture, Lessons Learned' (English Partnerships, CLG, June 2006) my officials are considering what work needs to be commissioned to further develop the evidence base for the proposed review and this will include additional research into the potential impact of Lifetime Homes Standards on affordability and density.
	There has been formal consultation on Lifetime Homes Standards in the Green Paper 'Homes for the future: more affordable, more sustainable' (CLG, July 2007), 'The future of the Code for Sustainable Homes—Making a rating mandatory' (CLG, July 2007) and the pre-strategy document for the 'National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society' (CLG, May 2007). The Home Builders Federation Retirement Housing Group, industry representatives, Age Concern and Help the Aged were among a variety of organisations represented on the Housing and Older People Development Group, the expert reference group that advised on the development of the 'National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society' from 2006.
	My officials are also continuing to work with key stakeholders, including representatives of the house building industry and disability organisations to explore how best to develop accessible and adaptable housing while ensuring we can meet our housing supply targets.

Housing: Planning

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance she has issued to local authorities on  (a) setting local development frameworks on the use of (i) Green Belt land, (ii) urban fringes and (iii) intensification of urban areas for residential construction and  (b) balancing the use of these land categories; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Guidance to local planning authorities on the process and general content of local development frameworks (LDFs) is set out in Planning Policy Statement 12. Government have also published a number of national planning policy statements (PPSs) and planning policy guidance notes (PPGs) on different matters which should be taken into account by local planning authorities in preparing their LDFs.
	PPG2 sets out national policy on green belts. This makes clear that there should be a presumption against inappropriate development in designated green belt land. Such development should not be approved, except in very special circumstances. PPS3 on 'Housing' sets out national planning policies for achieving high quality housing which make the most efficient and effective use of land to meet identified needs for new housing. PPS3 is not prescriptive in terms of directing housing to particular areas but asks local planning authorities to identify, through the preparation of strategic housing land availability assessments, specific, suitable sites in their plans which may include sites within the urban fringes and existing urban areas. A site is suitable if it offers a suitable location for housing development and would contribute to the creation of sustainable, mixed communities.
	It is for local planning authorities to assess a site's suitability for housing, taking into account factors such as policy restrictions, such as designations or protected areas; physical problems of restrictions, such as access, infrastructure, and flood risk; potential impacts, including effect upon landscape features and conservation; and the environmental conditions which would be experienced by prospective residents.

Housing: Renewable Energy

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what definition of  (a) off-site and  (b) on-site her Department uses for the purposes of requiring a set amount of renewable energy to be produced in relation to residential developments.

Iain Wright: The Department does not require a set amount of renewable energy to be produced in relation to residential developments.
	From 2016, all new homes will have to reach the zero carbon standard which will be set out in building regulations. The current definition of zero carbon homes as set out in the policy statement 'Building a Greener Future' means that over a year, the net carbon emissions from all energy use in the home are zero. The policy statement suggests that the zero carbon standard should be achieved through measures on the site of the dwelling or development, or through a low or zero carbon energy source connected to the development using a private wire. However, this will be the subject of a consultation process in the summer when we will be consulting on how the zero carbon 2016 standard should be achieved with a view to finalising the definition by the end of 2008.

Planning: Tendring

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of total planning applications in Tendring district were for development on garden sites classified as brownfield land in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally. Communities and Local Government collects quarterly aggregate statistics on development control from all local planning authorities in England. However, we do not collect information on individual planning applications.

Planning: Travelling People

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what planning aid funding has been given to Traveller groups by her Department in each of the last three years.

Iain Wright: No funding was provided for this purpose in 2005 or 2006. Communities and Local Government provided £9,011 to Planning Aid in 2007 to enable them to deliver training to Gypsies and Travellers on the planning system.

Property: Database

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 49W, on property: database, what central funding London Connects  (a) has received and  (b) is receiving for Valuebill.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 525W. No further funding will be provided in the next 12 months.

Squatting: Advisory Services

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department and its agencies have provided funding to organisations which give advice on squatting in the last three years.

Iain Wright: This Department does not fund any organisation specifically to provide advice on squatting.

Supporting People Programme: Learning Disability

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of the Supporting People budget was spent on people with a learning disability in each of the last four years.

Iain Wright: The Supporting People programme is administered at the local level by the relevant administering authority. It is for the authority to decide which services to fund, informed by the local needs and priorities identified in their five year Supporting People Strategies. The following table sets out the amount spent on Supporting People services for people with a learning disability, as reported to the Department by administering authorities. It will not identify all funding spent on people with a learning disability who access Supporting People services: some may have a different service classification (for example, people with a learning disability may access support from Supporting People services that help them move on from domestic violence or homelessness).
	
		
			  Spend reported on services for people with a learning disability (£) Proportion of the total reported spend (%) 
			 2004-05 396,596,732 23.4 
			 2005-06 388,760,777 23.1 
			 2006-07 367,435,288 22.4 
		
	
	Information for 2007-08 is not yet available.

Travelling People: Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been given to local authorities on whether Traveller camps which occupy land which they do not own or have permission from the landowner to reside on or which do not have planning permission should  (a) be charged council tax and  (b) receive rubbish collection services.

Iain Wright: No guidance has been given to local authorities on whether Gypsy and Travellers on unauthorised sites should be charged council tax.
	Gypsies and Travellers on authorised sites are required to pay council tax and should receive rubbish collection services.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Angling: Expenditure

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide a detailed breakdown of his Department's expenditure on fisheries improvements for anglers in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Environment Agency receives fisheries-specific funding from the Government amounting to £9.5 million per annum. The Environment Agency also receives income from the sale of licences from anglers and netsmen amounting to nearly £21.5 million per annum.
	This income funds a range of activities and fisheries improvements at regional and national level, which are of benefit to anglers. This includes the monitoring of fish stocks, investigation and remediation of incidents affecting fish such as disease, drought, pollution and floods; provision of advice on the development and improvement of fisheries, as well as the regulation of fishing through a licensing system which helps protect the resource for the future.
	The Environment Agency fisheries budget specifically allocates a national improvement and development project budget to fund projects that improve fisheries habitat, facilities and access for anglers. Many of these projects are undertaken in partnership with other organisations, usually leading to relatively highly-geared expenditure by partners on fisheries improvements.
	The following table provides overall expenditure on fisheries over the past five years together with the national improvement and development project budget.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total regional expenditure on fisheries 18.2 19.4 19.5 19.7 20.8 
			 Total national expenditure on fisheries 8.2 8.8 8.9 9.5 10.5 
			 Overall expenditure on fisheries 26.4 28.2 28.4 29.2 31.3 
			   
			 National improvement and development project budget 1.7 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.4 
		
	
	The national improvement and development project budget in the overall total is part of the regional expenditure on fisheries.

Angling: Expenditure

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's expenditure was on angling in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) region and  (b) local authority area; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table shows the expenditure broken down by each Environment Agency region. The Environment Agency does not break down expenditure by local authority area.
	
		
			  Regional fisheries expenditure 
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 North East 2,693 2,851 2,737 2,808 2,827 
			 North West 2,813 3,024 3,024 3,057 3,072 
			 Wales 3,296 4,171 4,210 4,246 4,251 
			 Midlands 2,036 2,283 2,445 2,449 2,488 
			 Anglian 1,747 1,816 1,794 1,875 2,029 
			 Thames 1,827 1,832 1,812 1,860 1,903 
			 Southern 1,488 1,589 1,581 1,612 1,623 
			 South West 2,276 2,620 2,659 2,582 2,594 
			 Total 18,176 19,386 19,462 19,689 20,787 
		
	
	The following table shows National Fisheries expenditure. This includes operational activities which have been centralised as part of the Environment Agency's efficiency programme. The Environment Agency's technical team supports the Fisheries Policy and Process team in setting the targets and delivery mechanisms for the regional activities and expenditure. Contributions to Head Office support service costs and IS development and maintenance are also included.
	
		
			  National fisheries expenditure 
			  £000 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Total 8,204 8,751 8,858 9,475 10,480

Angling: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the  (a) administration and  (b) enforcement costs of the freshwater angling licensing regime in the last five years; how many staff were involved in each year; what their total salaries were in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The cost of administering the rod licence system for each of the last five years is shown in the following table. The figures include Environment Agency staff expenditure, the printing of licences and sales transaction costs.
	
		
			  Rod licence administration cost 
			   Cost (£ million) 
			 2003-04 1.41 
			 2004-05 1.49 
			 2005-06 1.58 
			 2006-07 1.64 
			 2007-08 1.72 
		
	
	There are 280 Environment Agency staff warranted to undertake rod licence enforcement. Rod licence checking only forms a part of the role, so salary costs are worked out according to the proportion of time spent on this activity. While carrying out rod licence checks, these staff also carry out other regulatory activities such as ensuring compliance with fishery byelaws and regulating other licensing systems. Their other warranted activities include auditing and investigating fish introductions to prevent the spread of disease and non native species. The current annual salary cost of enforcing the rod licence is around £1 million. This has not changed significantly during the last five years.

Angling: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was raised by angling licences in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table shows rod licence income since 1997.
	
		
			  Licence year  Rod licence income  (£ million) 
			 1997-1998 13.5 
			 1998-1999 13.0 
			 1999-2000 14.2 
			 2000-01 14.4 
			 2001-02 14.9 
			 2002-03 16.1 
			 2003-04 17.6 
			 2004-05 18.6 
			 2005-06 19.7 
			 2006-07 20.5 
			 2007-08 21.5

Animal Welfare: Dogs

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to  (a) publish and  (b) put out to public consultation proposed regulations on greyhound welfare under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 21 April 2008
	 We are considering proposals for the regulation of greyhound racing and there is currently no timetable for a public consultation.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badgers found dead on roads were tested for tuberculosis in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: Badger carcases found dead on roads or motorways are the responsibility of the appropriate local authority or Highways Agency. The carcases are not routinely examined for signs of bovine TB at post mortem.
	DEFRA's Road Traffic Accident (RTA) survey of badgers found dead on roads in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire ran from 2002 to 2005. During that time culture results were obtained for 3,238 carcases. Of these, 481 (approximately 15 per cent.) were positive for bovine TB.
	An extended post-mortem examination carried out on a sample of 205 badgers culled as part of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial revealed substantially more infected animals; approximately double the rate, compared to standard post-mortem examination. Badgers submitted under the RTA survey underwent standard post-mortem examination. Therefore, these prevalence values are likely to be under-estimates.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of the badger population carrying bovine tuberculosis in England.

Jonathan R Shaw: Not all badger populations in England have been tested for bovine tuberculosis (bTB). However,  Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) was detected in 16.6 per cent. of badger carcases from proactively culled areas of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, located in West and South West England. The prevalence of infection in initial culls was higher in the inner regions of proactive treatment areas (two kilometres or more inside the boundary) than in the outer areas. This is not surprising as trial areas were centred on areas of high bTB risk.
	The results of DEFRA's Road Traffic Accident survey, carried out in seven counties between 2002 and 2005, showed similar levels of prevalence with M. bovis being detected in, on average, 15 per cent. of badger carcases.
	An extended post-mortem examination carried out on a sample of 205 RBCT badgers revealed substantially more infected animals, approximately double, than did standard post-mortem examination. Therefore, these prevalence values are likely to be under-estimates.

Cetaceans: Conservation

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the UK has taken to reduce cetacean by-catch; and what representations he has made to the EU on common arrangements.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA and the devolved administrations' fisheries departments published the UK Small Cetacean By-catch Response Strategy in March 2003. An update on the progress of implementing the strategy can be found on the DEFRA website.
	As part of this strategy, the UK Government have put over £2 million, between 2000 and 2008, into researching by-catch mitigation measures and monitoring by-catch on vessels through observers. The purpose of this is to identify those fisheries responsible for high levels of cetacean by-catch and mitigation measures that are effective at deterring cetaceans over the long-term and safe and cost-effective for the industry.
	In December 2004, the UK Government banned pelagic pair trawling for bass by UK vessels within 12 miles off the south-west coast of England because of concerns it was the cause of large numbers of dolphin deaths. Unfortunately, the European Commission did not support the UK's request to extend this ban to the vessels of other member states operating within these waters.
	Member states are required under Council Regulation (EC) 812/2004 to present an annual report to the European Commission on their by-catch observer programmes. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has been asked by the European Commission to look at these annual reports. I await its analysis before deciding if representations need to be made to the Commission about common arrangements.

Departmental Marketing

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on publicity and advertising in 2007-08.

Jonathan R Shaw: The core departmental expenditure on advertising and publicity for 2007-08 was £4,382,000.
	The largest area of expenditure is focused on delivering public information on how to reduce individual carbon footprints. It also includes engagement with farmers on disease control and a wide range of other matters, much of it necessary or beneficial to the public and the wide range of industries in which DEFRA has an interest, together with local government, voluntary organisations and other bodies.
	Individual records of spend for DEFRA's non-departmental public bodies, agencies and financially sponsored organisations are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many working days were lost by his Department due to stress-related illness in each of the last 24 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days sick leave were taken on average by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on sickness absence in the Civil Service is available at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/sickness.asp
	Published data are available from the 2004 calendar year to the 2006-07 financial year. The average number of working days lost by each member of staff in DEFRA was as follows:
	2004: 7.4
	2005: 8.2
	2006-07: 7.5

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of his Department's staff took more than  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15,  (d) 20,  (e) 25,  (f) 30,  (g) 35 and  (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, broken down by pay grade.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: As part of its ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS), DEFRA has an environmental policy which it displays in all of the buildings covered by its EMS. This policy covers sustainable operations on its estate. A copy of the policy statement can be made available on request.
	DEFRA has measures in place to make sure it meets the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets. Progress against these targets is assessed annually and results are published by the Sustainable Development Commission in their Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) report.
	DEFRA published its second Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) in November 2007 which sets out how the Department is putting SD into practice. This plan contains a summary of the initiatives being implemented to improve the operational performance across the estate.

Departmental Telephone Services

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what  (a) 0800,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public are in use by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to his Department.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) on 28 January 2008,  Official Report , column 74W.

Departmental Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many hours  (a) in total and  (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in his Department in the last year for which records are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are no central records of the actual hours worked by staff in DEFRA, as the majority of staff work flexible working hours for which only local records are held. Conditioned net hours (i.e. excluding lunch breaks) are 36 per week for London-based staff and 37 per week elsewhere. In addition, 78,400 hours of overtime were worked in the last financial year. The average number of staff in full-time equivalents in the core Department in 2007-08 was 3,424. This gives an approximate total of 6,533,000 hours worked; an average of 1,900 hours per person per year (36.7 hours per week).

Discrimination

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many claims for discrimination, based on  (a) sex,  (b) race and  (c) sexual orientation, were brought by members of his Department and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: During the last five years there have been no claims for discrimination based on sex, race or sexual orientation brought by members of this Department which have been settled in or out of court.
	The internal formal equal opportunities complaints procedures, including support mechanisms available to staff who perceive discrimination, are on DEFRA's Intranet site and all staff have access to them.

Farms: Inspections

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 123-4W, on farms: inspections, what proportion of the Animal Health budget for 2007-08 is allocated to on-farm work; what the cost was to the public purse arising from farm inspections conducted by the  (a) Rural Payments Agency,  (b) Environment Agency,  (c) Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate,  (d) Natural England,  (e) Food Standards Agency,  (f) Pesticides Safety Directorate and  (g) Health and Safety Executive in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The total Animal Health budget for 2007-08 was £109,864,000. The proportion for on-farm work is 65 per cent., and is estimated to be £71,412,000. This is only an estimate as not all bills have been processed. This estimate includes all on-farm work, including inspections and visits, and back office costs, for example, administration and travel. This does not include disease outbreak costs and costs relating to abattoir visits.
	The reduction in percentage for this financial year is mainly attributed to staff who would have been carrying out on-farm work being required to work on the disease outbreaks in 2007 (estimated to be around 16 per cent. of the budget). Therefore, being unable to perform the on-farm work recorded here.
	The following table sets out the costs to the public purse incurred by inspections carried out by the Rural Payments Agency. The figure is all-inclusive, covering direct cost of conducting on-farm inspections, management, co-ordination, support and administrative costs such as accommodation, equipment and travel.
	
		
			   Cost (£) 
			 2003-04 10,335,572 
			 2004-05 10,026,506 
			 2005-06 11,816,061 
			 2006-07 13,365,000 
			 2007-08 12,932,423 
		
	
	The Environment Agency operates an integrated programme of farm inspections covering a number of regulatory regimes. Some regulatory regimes provide for charges to recover costs from those that are regulated while others are funded by Grant in Aid from DEFRA.
	The Environment Agency estimates that the annual Grant in Aid cost of agricultural inspections is approximately £3.4 million. This has not changed significantly over the last five years.
	The Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (PHSI) undertakes a range of plant health duties. While this includes some on-farm inspections, the majority of PHSI inspection work is undertaken either at points of entry or on horticultural premises. It is not possible to separately identify expenditure specific to on-farm work.
	Natural England does not undertake formal farm inspections. All formal farm inspections in relation to England Rural Development Programme and Rural Development Programme for England agreements are conducted by the Rural Payments Agency Inspectorate.
	The Pesticides Safety Directorate does not undertake farm inspections.
	The Health and Safety Executive is not an Agency of DEFRA.

Fisheries: Subsidies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department holds on  (a) European Union grants made to national fisheries committees of each member state and  (b) grants to national fisheries committees by each member state authorised by the European Commission since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: We do not hold information on grant paid to national fisheries committees in other member states in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No. 391/2007 of 11 April 2007. This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 861/2006 as regards the expenditure incurred by member states in implementing the monitoring and control systems applicable to the Common Fisheries Policy.
	European Union grant awarded to each member state is set out in a Commission Decision which is published annually in the Commission's Official Journal. The Commission Decision gives details of how much grant has been awarded to each member state and for the broad project areas. Details are available on the Commission's website.

Food: Poverty

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to attend the Intergovernmental Plenary of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD); and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the IAASTD process in developing his Department's policy on the future of food, farming, global hunger and rural poverty.

Jonathan R Shaw: There are no plans for any DEFRA Minister to attend the Intergovernmental Plenary of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), and no assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the IAASTD process on developing DEFRA policy.

Inland Waterways: Repairs and maintenance

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on the repair and maintenance of inland waterways in 2005-06; and how much is planned to be spent in 2008-09.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA only holds information on the amount spent on the repair and maintenance of inland waterways by the three main navigation authorities. These figures are summarised in the following table. The repair and maintenance activities vary between the authorities.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2008-09 
			 British Waterways(1) 78.1 85 
			 The Broads(2) 0.72 1.5 
			 The Environment Agency(1) 14 15 
			 (1) England and Wales only. (2) 2008-09 figure for the Broads authority provides for staff costs of £223,500 whereas staff costs were not available in 2005-06.

Meat

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to increase the proportion of beef, pork and lamb meat consumed in England which has been produced in England.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government recognise that the marketing of local food can bring benefits for producers and consumers. In general, fewer middlemen are involved, and this allows farmers and small producers to retain a higher proportion of the end price of their produce. It also increases consumer choice and raises awareness and interest in local food by helping to improve consumers' links with, and understanding of, the rural economy and food production. Suppliers will flourish by providing what customers want and there is growing public enthusiasm for locally produced food and food with a clear regional provenance.
	We have helped to facilitate local sourcing by providing funding (through our various grant schemes and our support for Food from Britain) towards a range of measures helping regional and local food producers overcome barriers to market. Examples include "meet the buyer" events, the encouragement of food hubs and shared distribution facilities, and training seminars. Support is also available under the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) for activities linked to the promotion of quality regional and local food culture, for the use of native English breeds of cattle in environmental stewardship schemes and for activities linked to promoting the economic sustainability of the livestock sector.
	I also refer the right hon. Member to the oral ministerial statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 39, in which he announced a package of measures to help those farmers most affected by the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. This included £2 million for the promotion and marketing of lamb, beef and pork both at home and in our export markets. The domestic promotional activity carried out by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (Eblex) and the British Pig Executive ran from October 2007 to March 2008 and, during the specific periods of promotion, four week volume sales increased between 2 and 14 per cent. compared to the previous year.
	DEFRA also provided £1.2 million of funding from August 2006 to March of this year to kick-start the Beef Better Returns Programme administered by Eblex. This has involved measures to improve the competitiveness of the English beef sector and promote the product under the English Beef Quality Mark.
	In addition to this, DEFRA's ongoing Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI), launched in 2003 to help deliver the Government's Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy, aims to increase opportunities for small and local producers to tender to supply food to the public sector. Our funding of this initiative has helped support workshops for buyers and suppliers, regional pilot projects to develop the supply side, and a range of guides aimed at both food producers and public sector buyers. More information on the PSFPI can be found on the DEFRA website.
	However, the success of the livestock sectors in England will continue to depend upon their ability to compete upon market principles, including performance, quality and welfare standards.

Pet Travel Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals were part of the Pet Travel scheme in each year since its inception, broken down by species; and what plans he has for changes in the scheme to bring it into line with other EU countries.

Jonathan R Shaw: The following table shows the number of pet cats, dogs and ferrets entering the UK under the pet travel scheme (PETS) each year since 2000:
	
		
			   Cats  Dogs  Ferrets 
			 2000 2,062 12,633 0 
			 2001 3,562 23,158 0 
			 2002 4,359 36,410 0 
			 2003 6,012 48,938 0 
			 2004 7,314 57,418 10 
			 2005 8,346 69,549 39 
			 2006 8,375 74,285 31 
			 2007 10,137 89,127 43 
			 2008 (January-March only) 1,855 17,723 12 
		
	
	No decisions on changes to PETS have yet been taken. The European Commission has proposed an extension to the derogations which the UK and some other member states have under EC Regulation 998/2003 until 31 August 2009. The European Parliament is considering a further extension until 30 June 2010.

Pet Travel Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which countries have  (a) multilateral and  (b) bilateral arrangements with the UK with regard to the Pet Travel scheme.

Jonathan R Shaw: UK-resident dogs, cats and ferrets can travel to any of the countries and territories shown as follows and return to the UK under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS). Pets that come from any of these countries can also enter the UK under PETS as long as they meet the rules. Pets must not have been outside any of the listed countries in the six calendar months before travelling to the UK in order to qualify.
	Andorra
	Antigua and Barbuda
	Antilles
	Argentina
	Aruba
	Ascension Island
	Australia
	Austria
	Azores
	Bahrain
	Balearic Islands
	Barbados
	Belarus
	Belgium
	Bermuda
	Bosnia-Herzegovina
	British Virgin Islands
	Bulgaria
	Canada
	Canary Islands
	Cayman Islands
	Ceuta
	Chile
	Croatia
	Cyprus(1)
	Czech Republic
	Denmark
	Falkland Islands
	Estonia
	Faroe Islands
	Fiji
	Finland
	French Guyana
	French Polynesia
	France
	Germany
	Gibraltar
	Greece
	Greenland
	Guadeloupe(2)
	Guam
	Hawaii
	Hong Kong
	Hungary
	Iceland
	Ireland(3)
	Italy
	Jamaica(4)
	Japan
	Latvia
	Liechtenstein
	Lithuania,
	Luxembourg
	Martinique
	Madeira
	Malaysia(5)
	Malta
	Mauritius
	Mayotte
	Melilla
	Mexico
	Monaco
	Montserrat
	Netherlands
	New Caledonia
	New Zealand
	Norway
	Poland
	Portugal
	Reunion
	Romania
	Russian Federation(6)
	San Marino
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
	Spain
	St. Helena
	St. Kitts and Nevis
	St. Pierre and Miquelon
	St. Vincent
	Singapore
	Sweden
	Switzerland
	Taiwan
	Trinidad and Tobago
	United Arab Emirates
	USA (mainland)
	Vanuatu
	Vatican
	Wallis and Funtuna.
	(1 )Dogs, cats and ferrets prepared for PETS in, or returning under PETS to the UK from, the Republic of Cyprus may enter or re-enter the UK without quarantine. However, PETS compliant animals travelling from north Cyprus (the area north of the buffer zone) must be licensed into quarantine for six months on arrival in the UK. This must be arranged before the animal travels.
	(2) Includes St. Barthelemy and St. Martin (French part of the island).
	(3) No preparation or documentation is necessary for the movement of pets directly between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
	(4) Although Jamaica is a qualifying country under the EU Regulation, Jamaican law currently prevents the involvement of that country in PETS. PETS-prepared animals may not enter Jamaica and animals may not be prepared for PETS in Jamaica.
	(5) The import into UK quarantine of dogs and cats from Malaysia (Peninsula) is prohibited unless health certification provided by the Malaysian veterinary authorities is provided which confirms that the cat or dog:
	(i) has had no contact with pigs during at least the 60 days prior to export; and
	(ii) has not been resident on holdings where during the past 60 days any case of Nipah disease has been confirmed; and
	(iii) has been subjected with a negative result to an IgC capture ELISA test carried out in a laboratory approved for testing for antibody against the Nipah disease viruses by the competent veterinary authorities on a sample of blood taken within 10 days of export.
	(6) The Russian Federation consists of 88 subjects (regions). Please note that the following Republics are not part of the Russian Federation: Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Pig Meat

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of pig-meat products bought in England was  (a) produced in England,  (b) produced outside England and (i) packaged and (ii) labelled in England and  (c) produced and packaged outside England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA does not collect data in this form.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by  (a) his Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies in each of the last nine years.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, no expenditure has been incurred by core-DEFRA with Rackspace. Information on any expenditure by DEFRA's executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies with Rackspace is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Recreation Spaces: Urban Areas

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many pieces of land have been designated as a town green under the Commons Act 2006.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information is not held centrally. No practical distinction is made in law between town and village greens. A survey of commons registration authorities undertaken in September 2007 recorded that, among the two-fifths of authorities responding, four new greens had been registered under section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 since it was brought into force on 6 April 2007.

Rural Areas: Housing

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the likely effects of ending central Government funding for the rural housing enablers on the number of affordable houses in rural areas.

Jonathan R Shaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2138W.

Veterinary Medicine

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to introduce changes to the Veterinary Medicines Directive.

Jonathan R Shaw: The veterinary medicines directive (2001/82) was last amended by directive 2004/28. These changes were implemented in national legislation by the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005. The European Commission has consulted stakeholders on proposals to change the requirements for varying national marketing authorisations in order to reduce the administrative burden on industry while maintaining the safety of animals, consumers and the environment. Discussions with member states on amendments to directive 2001/82 started recently.
	The Veterinary Medicines Regulations are revoked and remade annually in order to keep them up to date and to provide a single piece of veterinary medicines legislation in the UK. The consultation on proposals for change in 2008 has started and comments are due by 9 June 2008. Details of the consultation are available on the veterinary medicines directorate's website:
	www.vmd.gov.uk

Whales: Conservation

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations his Department has made to the government of  (a) Angola,  (b) the Republic of Congo,  (c) Equatorial Guinea,  (d) Eritrea,  (e) Ghana,  (f) Malawi,  (g) the Federal States of Micronesia,  (h) Tanzania and  (i) Vanuatu on the recruitment of each to the International Whaling Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The publication "Protecting Whales—A Global Responsibility" has been sent to over 60 countries, both anti and pro-whaling, including current and non members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), encouraging them to join the effort to protect these species.
	Providing details of these countries and the letters sent to them could compromise our efforts to either persuade conservation minded countries to join the IWC and adopt an anti-whaling stance, or if thinking of joining the IWC with a pro-foreign and whaling stance, change their mind.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office posts will continue to lobby countries in support of the UK's position, seeking to encourage new anti-whaling members to the IWC and endeavouring to change the opinion of Governments which currently support whaling.

Whales: Conservation

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's aims for the outcome of the forthcoming annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission are; at what level the UK will be represented; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The UK will play an important role in the conservation and protection of cetaceans at the next annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to be held in Santiago, Chile in June 2008, which I plan to attend.
	We will continue to support the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling and oppose all forms of whaling, other than limited whaling operations by indigenous people for subsistence purposes.
	The UK will promote the non-lethal use of cetaceans (that is, whale-watching) and continue to highlight the unacceptable level of cruelty involved in current whaling operations, supporting proposals that increase welfare provisions. We will once again vote in support of the creation of Whale Sanctuaries.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on  (a) the married quarters estate and  (b) single living accommodation in England and Wales in each year since 1997; and how much will be spent on each type in each year to 2013.

Derek Twigg: Information regarding maintenance and new build family housing for England and Wales only is not available in the format requested and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information is available for Great Britain from 2001-02 and is:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 337 
			 2002-03 309 
			 2003-04 325 
			 2004-05 304 
			 2005-06 339 
			 2006-07 355 
		
	
	Single living accommodation (SLA) is funded by several areas of the Department and total maintenance expenditure could be collated only at disproportionate cost. Information in relation to SLA modernisation programmes is only available from 2003-04 and is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 106 
			 2004-05 236 
			 2005-06 183 
			 2006-07 186 
		
	
	Following the comprehensive spending review, the Department is in the process of finalising budgets for individual years and it would be inappropriate to comment on what these budgets will be until that process is complete. We, however, anticipate spending over £8 billion over the next decade, including over £3 billion on the upgrade and improvement of accommodation.

Armed Forces: Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many homes his Department sold in each local authority area of Scotland in each year since 1997; and what proportion of those homes were sold or otherwise transferred to the relevant local authority or a registered social landlord in each of those years.

Derek Twigg: Records of all Service housing sold in Scotland since 1997 are either not held centrally or no longer available. It will take a time to establish what information can be provided without incurring disproportionate cost and effort. I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Danny Alexander:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your question on 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 785W, about the number of homes the Department sold in each local authority area of Scotland in each year since 1997 and the proportion that were sold or otherwise transferred to the relevant local authority or registered social landlord.
	Information in the detail requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, I am able to provide details of Ministry of Defence properties sold in Scotland in each financial year since 2000-01, which are at Annex A.
	
		
			  Current financial year to end February 2008—Updated 25 March 2008 
			  Site  Address  Town  Financial year 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 48 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 58 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 62 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 The Sheilings 20 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Polton Estate MQ's De Quincey Road No. 29 Edinburgh 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 54 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's 92 Tarvitt Drive Cupar 2007 
			 The Sheilings 16 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Condor Drive MQ's Condor Drive—No. 2 Arbroath 2007 
			 Condor Drive MQ's Condor Drive—No. 6 Arbroath 2007 
			 The Common, Fort George 1 The Common Inverness 2007 
			 The Common, Fort George 2 The Common Inverness 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive MQ's 28 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Thornhill MQ's 23 Thornhill Crescent Forres 2007 
			 De Quincey Road SFA 31 De Quincey Road Edinburgh 2007 
			 The Sheilings 18 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Howburn Road 9 Howburn Road Thurso 2007 
			 Nordabrake SFA and Taftens SFA 1 and 2 Taftens, 1-7, 9, 11-13, 17 and 18 Nordabrake Haroldswick 2007 
			 Morlich Place Morlich Place No. 18 Kinross 2007 
			 Nordabrake SFA and Taftens SFA 8, 10, 14, 15, 16 Nordabrake Haroldswick 2007 
			 Ashwood Circle SFA Ashwood Circle No. 19 Aberdeen 2007 
			 Ashwood Circle SFA Ashwood Circle No. 21 Aberdeen 2007 
			 The Wimberley Estate Former Community Centre 22-26 (Evens) Somme Crescent Inverness 2007 
			 Wollocombe Square and Harper Way SFA 2 Harper Way Scone 2007 
			 Alnwickhill Road 128 Alnwickhill Road (Laurel Lodge) Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 47 Cramond Road North Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 51 Cramond Road North Edinburgh 2007 
			 St. Annes Avenue Estate 35 De Quincey Road, Polton Edinburgh 2007 
			 The Sheilings 2 The Shielings Boddam 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 37 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvlt Drive SFA 41 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 45 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 47 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 60 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 66 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 70 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 74 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 76 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 82 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 88 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 Tarvit Drive SFA 96 Tarvit Drive Cupar 2007 
			 St. Annes Ave Estate 33 De Quincey Road Edinburgh 2007 
			 Lossiemouth Road Elgin - 91/93 Lossiemouth Road Elgin 2007 
			 Redhall View 1 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 Redhall View 21 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA Cramond Place Nos. 4, 6, 8 and 10 and Garage site Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 12 Cramond Place Edinburgh 2007 
			 Cramond Place SFA 14 Cramond Place Edinburgh 2007 
			 Morlich Place SFA Morlich Place No. 30 Kinross 2007 
			 Redhall View MQ's 3 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 North Gyle Drive SFA 6 North Gyle Drive Edinburgh 2007 
			 North Gyle Drive SFA 17 North Gyle Drive Edinburgh 2007 
			 Lanark Road and Redhall View SFA 9 Redhall View Edinburgh 2007 
			 Warick Estate SFA Various addresses Warick Close Leuchars 2007 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2006-07 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Ashwood Circle 23-37 Aberdeen 2006 
			 Condor Drive MQ's Arbroath 2006 
			 Tuzo Close MQ's Balivanich 2006 
			 Tarvitt Drive MQ's Cupar 2006 
			 Parkhead Lodge Glencorse 2006 
			 Thornhill Forres 2006 
			 Rowmore Cottages Garelochhead 2006 
			 Lammermuir Drive Paisley 2006 
			 Stormont Road SFA (Phase 3) Scone 2006 
			 Invernettie Estate Peterhead 2006 
			 The Sheilings Estate Boddam 2006 
			 Settlers Hill MQ's Haroldswick 2006 
			 Dundonald Cres Irvine 2006 
			 Thornhill Forres 2006 
			 St. Gerardines Road Lossiemouth 2006 
			 Stormont Road SFA (Phase 3) Scone 2006 
			 Cramond Place SFA Edinburgh 2006 
			 Polton Estate MQ's Edinburgh 2006 
			 Settlers Hill MQ's Haroldswick 2006 
			 Cromarty Place MQ's Lossiemouth 2006 
			 Shaw Place MQ's Elgin 2006 
			 Shackelton Place / Cromarty Place MQ's Lossiemouth 2006 
			 Polton Estate MQ's Edinburgh 2006 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2005-06 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 17-30 and 53-76 Settlers Hill Haroldswick 2005 
			 Pinefield - 1-83 Pinefield Cres. Phase 3. Elgin 2005 
			 Blaven Court Forres 2005 
			 12 Pinegrove Elgin 2005 
			 Thornhill Forres 2005 
			 Clifton Road - Wellfield Ave Giffnock 2005 
			 Gallowhill Road Kinross 2005 
			 Shackleton Place Lossiemouth 2005 
			 10 St. Olaf Road Thurso 2005 
			 The Sheilings - Phase 4 (Part) Boddam 2005 
			 Invernettie Estate Peterhead 2005 
			 Tuzo Close MQs Balivanish 2005 
			 Gordon Close Estate - Phase 3 (24 FQs) Boddam 2005 
			 Claymore Estate - Phase 2 (34 FQs) Elgin 2005 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2004-05 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 The Sheilings - Phase 4 Peterhead 2004 
			 12 Avon Place Edinburgh 2004 
			 Pilmuir Est MQs - (15 in 005/06) Forres 2004 
			 Pilmuir Est MQ's - (17 in 03/04 + 15 in 04/05) Forres 2004 
			 Thornhill Forres 2004 
			 6 Roxburgh Place Fort William 2004 
			 Wellfield Avenue and Clifton Road Giffnock 2004 
			 4 Seafield Walk Keith 2004 
			 100-106 Stormont Road Scone 2004 
			 108, 110, 112 and 114 Stormont Road-Phase2 Scone 2004 
			 Fairmount House Perth 2004 
			 FQs Invernettie Estate All remaining houses. Peterhead 2004 
			 Remainder of Estate MQs Nos. 23 and 26 and Lock-up No. 4 Grampian Road Rosyth 2004 
			 32 Castlegreen Road Thurso 2004 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2003-04 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Belmont Avenue/Chalmers Road Ayr 2003 
			 Marine House Crombie 2003 
			 Pinegrove Maisonettes (13-36)(24) Elgin 2003 
			 Pilmuir Estate MQs Forres 2003 
			 Churchill Estate(50) Helensburgh 2003 
			 12 and 26Morlich Place Kinross 2003 
			 FQs Invernettie Estate All remaining houses Peterhead 2003 
			 2-50 (evens) 13-23(odds) Grampian Rd Rosyth 2003 
			 Remainder of Estate MQs (8) + (4) Grampian Rosyth 2003 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2002-03 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Sherbrooke Estate Rosyth 2002 
			 Kaimes Grove Kirknewton 2002 
			 St. Leonards Bank(3 and 7) Perth 2002 
			 67B Portland Street Troon 2002 
			 7 & 9 Catherine Grove Boness 2002 
			 Claymore Estate - Ph 1 - 26 Houses Peterhead 2002 
			 31 and 33 Hillside; 34, 26 Cairnview Rd Milton of Campsie 2002 
			 69 Clifton Rd Lossiemouth 2002 
			 26 Tandlehill Road Helensburgh 2002 
			 2-10 Bridgend Kirkcaldy 2002 
			 Churchill Estate (50) Helensburgh 2002 
			 Belmont Avenue/Chalmers Rd MQ's Ayr 2002 
			 10 Woodfarm Road Glasgow 2002 
			 30 Birdston Road Milton of Campsie 2002 
			 35-43 Lammermuir Drive Glasgow 2002 
			 Camperdown Drive (10) and Falkland Drive Arbroath 2002 
			 MQ's - Pilmuir Estate (60) Forres 2002 
			 76, 78, 80 Pilmuir (3) Forres 2002 
			 5 Market Road Laurencekirk 2002 
			 9 Hawthorn Road Peterhead 2002 
			 Kings Park (3) Glasgow 2002 
			 Invernettie (3) Monument Close ph 1 Peterhead 2002 
			 Grampian Road 25-41 (odd) (9) Rosyth 2002 
			 12 Jamieson Drive Stornoway 2002 
			 40 Ormlie Crescent Thurso 2002 
			 4 and 6 Ashwood Circle Aberdeen 2002 
			 133 and 135 Carmunnock Road Glasgow 2002 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2001-02 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Ex Offr's MQs Observatory Lerwick 2001 
			 Rosyth, Torridon Lane, Dr, PI, Grampian Pl, Ct, Rd Dunfermline 2001 
			 Dunalister House/Laverockdale cot/polo fields Edinburgh 2001 
			 1 Middlemuir Road Stirling 2001 
			 New farm loch Phase 2 Kilmarnock 2001 
			 7 and 9 Catherine Grove Boness, 2001 
			 MQs - 59-71 and 77 Annfield Gardens Phase 2 Stirling, 2001 
			 Benbecula 1-18 Meallard, 35-46 Winfield Way 1-20 and 23-60 Tindall Rd Benbecula 2001 
			 40, 42 Sutcliffe St, Anniesland Glasgow, 2001 
			 2-20 (even) Hunter Rd, 2-12 (even) Leach CL and Southern CL Arbroath 2001 
			 2-8 (even), 9-15 (odd), 19, 27, 31, 35 and 39 Scotstown Rd Phase 2 Peterhead, 2001 
			 Flats 1 to 6 @ 10, 30, 54, 64, 66 Clifton Rd Lossiemouth, 2001 
			 Polton Estate (56) Edinburgh 2001 
			 MQs - 109 to 123 Califer Road Forres 2001 
			 19/21 Mains Avenue Helensburgh 2001 
			 1, 3, 10 and 12 Woodfarm Road Glasgow 2001 
			 35-43 Lammermuir Drive Paisley 2001 
			 53-55 Viewpark Drive Glasgow 2001 
			 28 and 134 Pennyland Drive Thurso 2001 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2000-01 
			  Site  Town  Financial year 
			 Ardersier MQs Kinloss 2000 
			 38 and 40 Crosshill Drive Boness 2000 
			 Churchill Estate (Part) Dunbritton Helensburgh 2000 
			 Crombie Farm House Dunfermline 2000 
			 2 and 4 Limekilns Rd Dunfermline 2000 
			 10-20 (even) Covesea Rd Elgin 2000 
			 Forres, 83-107 (odd), 104-108 (even), 112-160 (even) Califer Rd; 12-24 (even), 13-27 (odd) Drumine Rd Forres 2000 
			 44, 46 Sutcliffe St, Anniesland Glasgow 2000 
			 1-40 and 42-74 (even) Camperdown Ct, 1 -1 5 Golf PI. Phases 1 and 2 Helensburgh 2000 
			 MQs Wimberley Way-Future Disposals Phase 1 Inverness 2000 
			 New farm loch Phase 1 Kilmarnock 2000 
			 2-16 (even) Kelas Ave; 44-50 (even), 53-67 (odd) Moray St; 1 to 7 (odd) Park Place; 18 to 24 (even) MacDuff St; 30 to 36 (even) Elgin Rd; 1 to 7 (odd) Gilmour Cres; 17 to 31 (odd) St. Gerardine's Rd Lossiemouth 2000 
			 RAF MQs Machrihanish 2000 
			 1 and 2 St. Dunstan's Lane Melrose 2000 
			 2-8 (even), 9-15 (odd), 19, 27, 31, 35 and 39 Scotstown Rd Phase 1 Peterhead 2000 
			 RAF Pitreavie MQ's Dunfermline 2000 
			 RAF Edzell MQ's Brechin 2000 
			 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 Forbes Road Dunfermline 2000 
			 MQs - 59-71 and 77 Annfield Gardens Phase 1 Stirling 2000 
			 MQs - 22 Middlemuir Rd; 8 Borrowlea Roa Stirling 2000

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his policy to allow unmarried members of HM armed forces to live with a permanent partner in service family accommodation.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 3 April 2008
	The Ministry of Defence provides benefits, such as an entitlement to live in Service Family Accommodation, to those who are in legally recognised relationships, that is, married or in a civil partnership, but not to other forms of partnership.

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what average price was paid for his Department's dwellings by Annington Estates.

Derek Twigg: Under the 1996 Sale Agreement, a total of 57,428 Service Family Accommodation properties were transferred to Annington Homes Ltd of which 55,055 were immediately leased back. The average price per property has been calculated at some £30,000.

Armed Forces: Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many residential properties his Department owns; and how many it owned at the time Annington Estates acquired them.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a total worldwide stock of some 71,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties. In 1996, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) sold some 57,428 Service Family Accommodation properties in England and Wales to Annington Homes Ltd (AHL) of which some 55,055 were leased back by the Department.
	Today, the majority of SFA properties are still leased from AHL or provided by the host nation as is the case overseas. At 3 April, some 7,523 properties in the UK and some 2,704 properties overseas are owned by the MOD.

Armed Forces: Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's most recent estimate is of  (a) the number of empty domestic dwellings owned by his Department and the armed forces and  (b) the number of empty domestic dwellings owned by external bodies which are for use by members of the armed forces and their families.

Derek Twigg: Details of empty Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties, broken down by those which are owned and not owned by this Department, are not centrally held. However, details of SFA that is void (not in use for its intended purpose) are available. Void stock includes that being held for planned moves of Service Units, or awaiting planned upgrades, sale or release, modernisation or demolition.
	Out of a total worldwide stock of some 71,000 properties, some 12,000 are currently void. The Department is actively working to reduce the figure. Since March 2007, the total number of void SFA properties has reduced from 13,336 to some 12,000 properties.

Army: Uniforms

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the cut and sew contract for army uniforms runs out; and when the tender process for the future cut and sew contract begins.

Bob Ainsworth: The cut and sew contract runs out in September 2009. The tender process for the new requirement is due to commence shortly.

Departmental Accountancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what items of his Department's  (a) revenue and  (b) expenditure are uprated using (i) the consumer prices index, (ii) the retail prices index and (iii) other measures of inflation.

Bob Ainsworth: I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Mark Hoban:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 28 January 2008, (Official Report, column 33W) about items of the Department's revenue and expenditure that are uprated using the consumer prices index, the retail prices index and other measures of inflation.
	I am afraid that it is not possible to list, for individual items across the £33.4Bn Defence programme, the ways in which they have been uprated. In principle, however, where we need to uprate any revenue or expenditure due to inflation, we do so on the basis on one or more of the following measures:
	a. HM Treasury's GDP deflator (which is also sometimes rounded for ease of internal planning);
	b. The Consumer Price Index;
	c. Agreed individual measures of inflation for specific contracts;
	d. Advice from experts for individual items that may be subject to unique inflationary factors (e.g. fuel); and
	e. Recommendations from independent bodies (e.g. The Armed Forces Pay Review Body).

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 814W, on the departmental internet, whether Wikipedia entries have been created or amended by officials in his Department who are not special advisers or communications officials.

Derek Twigg: We are aware that before January 2008 a number of Wikipedia entries were created or amended by staff from MOD networks. Records of these updates are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Since January 2008, the MOD has blocked write access to Wikipedia from its major networks, although still allowing users to read the site.

Departmental Marketing

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on publicity and advertising in 2007-08.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence and the single services forecast a spend of £54.12 million on publicity and advertising, including armed forces and civilian recruitment, in the financial year 2007-08. This figure includes all above and below the line activity.
	The breakdown of expenditure is as follows:
	
		
			  Service  Projected expenditure (£ million) 
			 Royal Navy 13.09 
			 British Army 26.65 
			 Royal Air Force 13.08 
			 Ministry of Defence 1.3m 
		
	
	These figures cover forecasted expenditure by the single service commands (including recruitment campaigns), advertising for civilian recruitment, and directorate general media and communication activity.
	Accurate information on other advertising and publicity spend by the Ministry of Defence, Defence agencies, top level budget areas, trading funds, joint headquarters and military units is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years.

Derek Twigg: 2,825 members of civilian staff in the Ministry of Defence (3.67 per cent.) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2007. 2,619 members of staff (3.60 per cent.) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2008.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff in his Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Derek Twigg: Information has been provided by the National School of Government. The number of MOD staff attending the courses listed, and the cost to the Department of each course, are set out as follows:
	
		
			  Course  Number of Attendees  Cost (£) 
			 Influencing with Integrity 7 5,082 
			 Emotional Intelligence 3 4,485 
			 Counselling Skills for the Workplace 1 1,115 
			 Managing Your Confidence 6 6,725 
			 Balancing Work/Life Realities 0 — 
			 Working Assertively 1 726

Helicopters: Training

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training exercises were conducted by Apache and Chinook helicopter crews in each of the last five years; and what the  (a) location and  (b) type was of each.

Bob Ainsworth: The number of collective training exercises supported by both Apache and Chinook helicopter crews was seven in 2005, 13 in 2006 and 18 in 2007. Records are not held for collective training exercises conducted prior to 2005. The location and type of each exercise are shown in the following table. The number of collective training exercises supported by Chinook only and Apache only will take longer to collate. I will write to the hon. Member when this information is available. Aircrew training flights are too numerous to quantify.
	
		
			   Exercise details  Location 
			 2005 Exercise Iron Storm—3 (UK) Division live firing Exercise UK wide 
			 2005 Qualified Helicopter Training Instructor Flying Phase—Air Crew Training Exercise Scotland 
			 2005 3 times Exercise Bowman Vanguard—Fleet Collective Training Exercise UK wide 
			 2005 Exercise Bowman Ord—Fleet Exercise part of HMS Ocean sea trials Sea trials 
			 2005 Exercise Argonaut—Fleet Collective training Exercise UK Wide 
			
			 2006 Exercise Herrick Eagle—16 Brigade Herrick 4 Mission Rehearsal Exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area and Sennybridge Training Area 
			 2006 Exercise Southern Raider—3 Commando Brigade Mission Rehearsal Exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area and Sennybridge Training Area 
			 2006 5 times OPTAG (Operational Training and Advisory Group) confirmation Exercises 3 Commando Brigade units Herrick 5 Pre Deployment Training Stanford Training Area 
			 2006 Exercise Iron Storm—3 (UK) Division Capstone Combat Services Support Exercise for Engineer Regiments' Herrick 5 Pre Deployment Training UK Wide 
			 2006 5 times OPTAG confirmation Exercises—12 Division units Herrick 6 Pre Deployment Training Stanford Training Area 
			
			 2007 Exercise Desert Dragon—12 Division Herrick 6 Mission Rehearsal Exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area and Sennybridge Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Pashtun Ace—12 Division Close Combat Attack concentration as part of Herrick 6 Pre Deployment Training Otterburn Training Area 
			 2007 4 times Ex Druid's Dance—52 Brigade Herrick 7 Pre Deployment Training Sennybridge Training Area 
			 2007 5 times OPTAG Confirmation Exercises—52 Brigade units Herrick 7 Pre Deployment Training. Stanford Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Desert Dragon—52 Brigade Herrick 7 Mission Rehearsal Exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area and Sennybridge Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Eagle's Eye—16 Brigade Airborne Task Force validation Exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 5 times OPTAG Confirmation Exercises—16 Brigade units Herrick 8 Pre Deployment Training on Stanford Training Area 
		
	
	 Substantive answer from Bob Ainsworth to Liam Fox:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 7 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 46-47W with details of the number of collective training exercises supported by Chinook only or Apache only.
	The number of collective training exercises (lasting longer than 24 hours' duration) supported by the Chinook is 31 and the Apache is four. The location and type of each exercise is shown below:
	
		
			   Exercise Details—Chinook only  Location 
			 2005 Winter Environmental Training—Commando Helicopter Force Norway 
			 2005 Tactical Leadership Training—Night Exercise—Air Warfare Centre Scotland 
			 2005 HMS Ocean Basic Operational Sea Training— (deck landings) Sea Trials 
			 2005 Exercise Eagle's Strike—Airborne Task Force validation—3 PARA Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2005 Exercise Jebel Sahara—individual pilot training Morocco 
			 2006 Tactical Leadership Training—Night Exercise—Air Warfare Centre Scotland 
			 2006 Exercise Executive Stretch—TA Collective Training Scotland 
			 2006 Exercise Crimson Hurdle—Air Manoeuvre Training and Advisory Team Conversion to Role 4 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2006 HMS Albion Basic Operational Sea Training—deck landings Sea Trials 
			 2006 Exercise Herrick Archer—16 Air Assault Brigade Herrick 4 pre-deployment training Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2006 Exercise Northern Ranger—TA Annual Camp Scotland 
			  Exercise Hawk Owl—Qualified Helicopter Tactics Instructor Fly phase—individual pilot training Scotland 
			 2006 Exercise Cock Feather—51 (Scottish) Brigade—air skills training Scotland 
			 2006 Exercise Grey Cormorant—Commando Group validation Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2006 Exercise Jebel Sahara—individual pilot training Morocco 
			 2006 Exercise Shamrock Blitz—1 Royal Irish Battle Group—Collective Training 1/2 Otterburn Training Area 
			 2006 Exercise Herrick Eagle—16 Air Assault Brigade—Herrick 4—mission rehearsal exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area and Sennybridge Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Shamrock Marauder—1 Royal Irish Battle Group—Collective Training 3 Otterburn Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Eagle's Breach 16 Air Assault Brigade Engineers—Collective Training 1/2 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 HMS Ark Royal Basic Operational Sea Training—deck landings Sea Trials 
			 2007 Exercise Eagle's Flight - 16 Air Assault Brigade—air skill training—Collective Training 1/2 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Eagle's Sapper —16 Air Assault Brigade Engineers—Collective Training 3 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Hawk Owl 07—Qualified Helicopter Tactics Instructor—individual pilot training Scotland 
			 2007 Exercise Cock Feather—51 Brigade—air skills training Scotland 
			 2007 Exercise Grey Heron—FLEET logistics exercise UK waters 
			 2007 Exercise Eagle's Resolve—7 Royal Horse Artillery—Collective Training 3 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Whirling Rhino—1 Division—air skills training Germany 
			 2007 Exercise Jebel Sahara—individual pilot training Morocco 
			 2007 Exercise Eagle's Eye—16 Air Assault Brigade—Airborne Task Force validation Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Tusker Challenge—individual pilot training UK and Cyprus 
			 2007 Exercise Blue Marauder— Airborne Task Force—build up training Salisbury Plain Training Area 
		
	
	
		
			   Exercise  d etails - Apache only  Location 
			 2005 Exercise Lightning Hurdle—Attack Helicopter—Conversion to Role 2 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2005 Exercise Lightening Dawn—Attack Helicopter—Conversion to Role 3 Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2006 Exercise Crimson Eagle—Attack Helicopter -Pre-deployment and environmental training Arizona 
			 2007 Exercise Crimson Eagle—Attack Helicopter—Environmental training and fire support team training Arizona 
		
	
	In compiling this information, an error was identified in my answer, which covered the number of collective training exercises supported by both helicopters, whereby Exercise Herrick Eagle 2006 and Exercise Eagle's Eye 2007 were included in error as they were only supported by Chinook. In addition the following three exercises were inadvertently omitted from the information provided previously.
	
		
			   Exercise details involving both Chinook and Apache  Location 
			 2006 Exercise Southern Dawn—3 Commando Brigade—Mission Rehearsal Exercise Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Rosedale—201 Field Hospital Incident Response Team Salisbury Plain Training Area 
			 2007 Exercise Kush Dragon 52 Brigade Op Herrick—pre-deployment training Salisbury Plain Training Area

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to reply to the letter of 25 February 2008 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent, reference MC01269/2008.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 21 April 2008
	I replied to my hon. Friend today.

Ministers' Private Offices

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs of Ministers' private offices in his Department were in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: I am able to provide costs back to financial year 2002-03. There is no requirement for the Department to retain financial information beyond the six year period.
	To ensure completeness, data are provided for the business unit within which Ministers' private offices are categorised, and therefore also includes the costs of the private office for the Permanent Under Secretary as well as the MOD parliamentary branch. The data provided incorporate the full costs of running these offices, including salaries for Ministers, civil service and military staff, and special advisers, utilities, equipment and general administration. The figure for financial year 2007-08 includes costs incurred up to the end of February 2008.
	
		
			  Financial year  Running costs (£) 
			 2002-03 4,176,562.27 
			 2003-04 4,621,947.68 
			 2004-05 4,051,758.30 
			 2005-06 4,495,317.54 
			 2006-07 4,914,889.42 
			 2007-08 4,380,182.47

National Army Museum

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will request the National Army Museum (NAM) to give to all of the Regimental and Corps Museums funded by his Department  (a) all reasonable access to and  (b) capacity to copy any record document deposited within NAM that relates to that Regiment or Corps; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the National Army Museum's access policy; what the Museum's systems and procedures are for dealing with  (a) other military, Regimental and Corps museums wholly or partly funded by the Ministry of Defence,  (b) other museums,  (c) historians, researchers, authors and journalists and  (d) members of the public; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: I will write to the hon. Member.
	 Substantive answer from Derek Twigg to Andrew Mackinlay:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Questions on 20 February (Official Report, columns 701-712W) on 19 February (Official Report, column 1178W) about the National Army Museum (NAM).
	The NAM is based in London and provides a national archive for some Regimental records and collections. Items in its collections are readily accessible through its reading room to anyone who wishes to see them. Similarly, subject to considerations of copyright and conservation, it provides copies of documents to members of the public, in whatever capacity they are seeking the information, on payment of the appropriate fee. The NAM is not resourced to provide copies free of charge, nor is it permitted to use its grant-in-aid funding to subsidise other individuals or organisations.
	In addition to the NAM, there are currently some 130 Regimental and Corps museums and collections across the UK which provide a source of historical information including uniforms, badges, weapons, military memorabilia and archives. Museums within this network often request information from each other, or indeed the NAM. A nominal charge would be made for these official requests. However, the Curator of a Regimental museum, Miss Moreno, wrote to the NAM Director on 1 February seeking information in a private capacity as part of her studies for her degree. It was standard practice therefore for her to be charged for the information. The NAM Director replied to Miss Moreno on 18 February outlining the charging policy and offering a twenty five percent discount in recognition of the inconvenience the delay in providing the information had caused. I understand that Miss Moreno has now received her information, and paid the fee.
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Alcoholic Drinks

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at how many events held by his Department  (a) wine and  (b) Fairtrade wine were served in the last three years; and what assessment his Department has made of the merits of serving Fairtrade wine at future events.

Shaun Woodward: Provision of wine is managed as part of the Department's general hospitality budget. Separate information on the provision of wine and fair-trade wine is not held.
	The Government are committed to improving market access to producers in developing countries through increased participation in fair and sustainable supply chains. Each Government Department is responsible for making its own decisions on such products, against the background of the Government's value for money policy, the EC procurement rules and the Department's objectives. My Department does use a range of Fairtrade produce.

Departmental Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

Shaun Woodward: The (i) purpose and (ii) value of the contracts placed with  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey, (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms by the Northern Ireland Office (excluding its agencies and NDPBs) in each of the last 12 months are shown in the following tables:
	 (a) KPMG
	No contracts have been placed with KPMG in the last 12 months.
	 (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers
	
		
			  Purpos e—general management and business  Value (£) 
			 April 2007 40,000 
			 1 April 2007 -31 March 2008 total 40,000 
		
	
	 (c) Ernst and Young
	No contracts have been placed with Ernst and Young in the last 12 months.
	 (d) McKinsey
	No contracts have been placed with McKinsey in the last 12 months.
	 (e) Deloitte
	
		
			  Purpose—general management and business  Value (£) 
			 April 2007 32,250 
			 January 2008 33,440 
			 1 April 2007-31 March 2008 total 65,690 
		
	
	 (f) Other consultancy firms
	
		
			  Purpose  Value (£) 
			  General management and business  
			 May 2007 1,774 
			 June 2007 13,608 
			   
			  IT  
			 July 2007 40,000 
			   
			  Financial  
			 August 2007 50,878 
			   
			  Other  
			 July 2007 3,285 
			 August 2007 2,048 
			 September 2007 1,964 
			 November 2007 79,468 
			 December 2007 2,170 
			 January 2008 10,448 
			 February 2008 800 
			 March 2008 108,174 
			 1 April 2007-31 March 2008 total 314,617

SCOTLAND

JP Morgan

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department and its predecessors paid to JP Morgan in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of each payment was.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999; since that date, no payments have been made to this company.

Karian and Box

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the value was of each contract awarded by his Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999; since that date, no payments have been made to this company.

Zurich Financial Services

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Zurich Financial Services in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of the payment was in each case.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999; since that date, no payments have been made to this company.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Performing Right Society

Gordon Banks: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was paid in Performing Right Society licence fees from the parliamentary estate in each of the last five years for which data are available.

Nick Harvey: There are no records of any direct licence fees being paid to the Performing Right Society.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Control Zones

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many areas have been designated as alcohol control zones, broken down by local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has been informed that 600 designated public places orders (DPPOs) have been implemented throughout England and Wales. A full list of the councils which have implemented the orders can be accessed at the following internet link. DPPOs are sometimes erroneously referred to as 'alcohol control zones'.
	http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/alcoholorders/alcoholorders09.htm

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of alcohol-related disorder have been reported in Kent in each of the last five years.

Vernon Coaker: From the information collected centrally on recorded crime, it is not possible to identify those offences which are alcohol-related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the recorded crime statistics.

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for offences involving drunk and disorderly behaviour in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The arrests collection held by the Ministry of Justice covers persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only. Summary offences of 'being drunk and disorderly' are non-notifiable and as a result are not covered by the collection.

Alcoholic Drinks: Public Order Offences

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcohol consumption designated public place orders have been introduced, broken down by  (a) location and  (b) date of commencement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office has been informed that 600 Designated Public Place Orders (DPPOs) have been implemented throughout England and Wales. A full list of the councils which have implemented the orders can be accessed at the following internet link which includes the commencement date:
	http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/alcoholorders/alcoholorders09.htm

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licensees have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted under section 147A of the Licensing Act 2003 for persistently selling alcohol to those under age.

Vernon Coaker: No data are currently available. Section 147A of the Licensing Act 2003 was incorporated into the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 which came into effect on 1 April 2008.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people aged  (a) 12 to 14,  (b) 15 to 16 and  (c) 17 years were cautioned for purchasing alcohol in the Peterborough City Council area in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: There were no young people aged  (a) 12 to 14,  (b) 15 to 16 and  (c) 17 who have been reprimanded or given a final warning, and no persons aged 18 years who were given a caution for the offence: persons under the age of 18 years purchasing alcohol, in Cambridgeshire police force area for the years 2001 to 2006. From June 2000, cautions for offenders under 18 years old were replaced by reprimands and final warnings.
	Information held by the court proceedings database is unable to further break down data to city council level. The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005. Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

Asylum: Children

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to meet local authority representatives to discuss grant payments for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 November 2007
	I met with representatives of local authorities last month to discuss this matter. In the meantime, there is on-going dialogue between my officials and local authorities on a number of funding issues in respect of the support provided by local authorities to unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Cannabis

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions took place of individuals found to be supplying cannabis seeds via internet websites in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: I have been informed by the Ministry of Justice that there have been no such prosecutions. This is because the sale of cannabis seeds is not illegal in the UK.

Cannabis

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the links between home-grown cannabis and organised crime; and whether these links have changed since January 2004.

Vernon Coaker: The Serious Organised Crime Agency produced the 2008-09 UK Threat Assessment of Serious Organised Crime at the beginning of April. The Threat Assessment recognises that while cannabis continues to be imported into the UK in significant quantities commercial cultivation in the UK, mainly by organised criminals, is on the increase, particularly the high potency form of cannabis known as 'skunk'.

Cocaine: Misuse

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the prevalence of cocaine abuse in the 15 to 25 year age group in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The British Crime Survey (BCS) provides information on the prevalence and trends of illicit drug use among 16 to 59-year-olds in England and Wales and reports prevalence of cocaine use in the last year for young people aged 16 to 24.
	Figures in the following table show prevalence of cocaine use (including crack cocaine and cocaine powder) over the last five years using the 2002-03 to 2006-07 BCS. The BCS shows that cocaine use among young people has remained stable during this period.
	
		
			  BCS: P roportion of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting use of cocaine in the last year 
			  Percentage 
			  Drug  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  Statistically significant change2002-03 to2006-07( 1)  Statistically significant change2005-06 to2006-07( 1) 
			 Any cocaine 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.9 6.1 — — 
			 Cocaine powder 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.9 6.0 — — 
			 Crack cocaine 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.4 0.4 — — 
			 Unweighted base 4,227 5,351 6,796 5,892 5,706 — — 
			 (1) A statistically significant increase at the 5 per cent. level would be denoted by 'up arrow character'. A statistically significant decrease at the 5 per cent. level would be denoted by 'down arrow character.'.  Source: British Crime Survey

Crime

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess research on the principal variables which affect levels of crime in order to assess their relative significance.

Jacqui Smith: The Home Office has no current plans to undertake such an evaluation. We already make use of the body of criminological and economic research evidence around a number of socioeconomic variables that impact on crime (including, for example, the economy, the impact of the police and criminal justice system, and demographic changes). However, given the complex way in which these factors interact, a conclusive judgment on their relative importance is extremely difficult to make. Furthermore, what comprises key factors may vary significantly between different types of crime and over time.

Crime: Bus Services

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were committed on buses in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available centrally. Offences committed in relation to buses cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime series.

Crime: Young People

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of those arrested for robbery in  (a) the East of England and  (b) Suffolk in 2006 were aged 17 and under.

Vernon Coaker: Information on arrests collected by the Ministry of Justice provides data on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, by age group, gender, ethnicity, and main offence group. The available information is given in the following table. Data for 2006-07 will be available later in the year.
	
		
			  N umber of persons aged 17 and under arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) within the 'robbery' offence group, by area, 2005-06 (latest available). 
			   Total  
			   Age 17 and under  All ages and age note known  Percentage of age 17 and under 
			 East region 990 2,061 48 
			 Suffolk police force area 60 191 31 
			  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Crimes of Violence

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidents of violence against the person involved a  (a) knife,  (b) hitting implement,  (c) glass or bottle,  (d) stabbing implement,  (e) firearm,  (f) stone or stones,  (g) syringe and  (h) other implement in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available centrally. It is not possible to determine the implement used in crimes of violence against the person from the recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.
	Statistics are published on the number of homicides by the apparent method of killing. Figures for 1996 to 2006-07 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Table 1.03 Offences currently( 1)  recorded as homicide by apparent method of killing and sex of victim: England and Wales, 1996 to 2006-07 
			  Recorded crime 
			  Apparent method  1996  1997  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Male victims 
			 Sharp instrument 139 133 137 151 153 156 194 182 183 187 162 185 
			 Blunt instrument 49 48 47 41 44 49 36 26 53 49 40 33 
			 Hitting, kicking, etc. 64 76 79 76 82 86 120 110 111 110 89 126 
			 Strangulation(2) 20 10 12 29 20 84 17 20 18 16 14 23 
			 Shooting(3) 38 52 45 42 52 63 91 55 61 60 38 53 
			 Explosion(4) 2 1 1 2 3 2 — 4 — 2 24 1 
			 Burning 13 15 15 13 9 9 15 7 19 18 16 13 
			 Drowning(5) 4 7 5 3 3 7 8 4 20 9 3 7 
			 Poison or drugs(6) 15 12 12 24 20 21 20 66 11 18 20 24 
			 Motor vehicle(7) 2 11 12 11 10 11 15 17 16 16 11 3 
			 Other 30 24 26 26 25 46 24 29 21 28 17 28 
			 Not known — 6 9 12 28 9 17 22 41 39 49 51 
			 Total 376 395 400 430 449 543 557 542 554 552 483 547 
			  
			  Female victims 
			 Sharp instrument 58 67 65 50 60 57 67 83 59 72 57 73 
			 Blunt instrument 19 23 21 24 26 27 24 22 20 17 19 8 
			 Hitting, kicking, etc. 17 23 24 13 13 16 25 38 26 16 20 14 
			 Strangulation(2) 57 54 49 49 36 63 60 46 49 48 41 31 
			 Shooting(3) 9 6 7 4 9 9 6 20 6 10 11 6 
			 Explosion(4) — — — — 1 — 1 — — — 29 — 
			 Burning 11 14 13 19 4 9 14 15 9 15 11 15 
			 Drowning(5) 5 — 1 3 3 2 4 2 4 4 1 1 
			 Poison or drugs(6) 13 5 5 23 33 11 14 135 9 9 10 1 
			 Motor vehicle(7) — 1 1 3 1 8 5 4 7 6 2 4 
			 Other 15 13 12 17 16 22 14 21 15 13 7 15 
			 Not known 6 8 10 11 24 5 14 25 18 20 34 19 
			 Total 210 214 208 216 226 229 248 411 222 230 242 187 
			  
			  Total victims 
			 Sharp instrument 197 200 202 201 213 213 261 265 242 259 219 258 
			 Blunt instrument 68 71 68 65 70 76 60 48 73 66 59 41 
			 Hitting, kicking, etc. 81 99 103 89 95 102 145 148 137 126 109 140 
			 Strangulation(2) 77 64 61 78 56 147 77 66 67 64 55 54 
			 Shooting(3) 47 58 52 46 61 72 97 75 67 70 49 59 
			 Explosion(4) 2 1 1 2 4 2 1 4 _ 2 53 1 
			 Burning 24 29 28 32 13 18 29 22 28 33 27 28 
			 Drowning(5) 9 7 6 6 6 9 12 6 24 13 4 8 
			 Poison or drugs(6) 28 17 17 47 53 32 34 201 20 27 30 25 
			 Motor vehicle(7) 2 12 13 14 11 19 20 21 23 22 13 7 
			 Other 45 37 38 43 41 68 38 50 36 41 24 43 
			 Not known 6 14 19 23 52 14 31 47 59 59 83 70 
			 Total 586 609 608 646 675 772 805 953 776 782 725 734 
			 (1) As at 12 November 2007; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2 )Including asphyxiation. Year 2000-01 includes 58 Chinese nationals who collectively suffocated in a lorry en route into the UK. (3 )These figures may not agree with those in the firearms chapter because (a) figures include cases where the firearm was used as a blunt instrument and (b) homicide figures include shooting by crossbows and are compiled at a later date and take into account the results of police and court decisions. (4 )Year 2005-06 includes 52 victims of the 7 July London bombings. (5 )Year 2003-04 includes 20 cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay. (6 )Year 2002-03 includes 172 victims of Dr. Shipman. (7 )Excluding death by careless/dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by her Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Liam Byrne: There are no plans to introduce such a target, however it is now standard practice to put in at least one set of video conferencing (VC) equipment in Home Office properties.

Detention Centres: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prescriptions were dispensed to persons held in  (a) immigration detention centres and  (b) immigration removal centres for (i) subutex, (ii) methadone and (iii) other opiate replacements in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The UK Border Agency does not hold central records that contain this information and it would incur disproportionate costs to research the data requested.

Detention Centres: HIV Infection

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prescriptions for anti-retroviral drugs were dispensed to persons detained in  (a) immigration detention centres and  (b) immigration removal centres in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The UK Border Agency does not hold central records that contain this information and it would incur disproportionate costs to research the data requested.

Detention Centres: MRSA

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of  (a) MRSA and  (b) clostridium difficile were recorded in each (i) immigration detention centre and (ii) immigration removal centre in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The UK Border Agency does not hold central records that contain this information and it would incur disproportionate costs to research the data requested.

Drugs: Children

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were  (a) arrested,  (b) prosecuted and  (c) imprisoned for drugs offences in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: Available information is collected, and has been provided, by the Ministry of Justice.
	The arrests data collection holds data on persons arrested only for recorded crime (notifiable offences), by age group, gender, ethnicity and main offence group. Table 1 shows the number of persons aged between 10 and 17 (inclusive) arrested for notifiable drug offences in England and Wales each year between 2001-02 and 2005-06. Data for 2006-07 are not yet available.
	Data for the number of defendants aged 10 to 17 proceeded against and given a custodial sentence for drug offences in England and Wales from 2002 to 2006 are given in table 2.
	The figures given in the table on prosecutions relate to persons for whom the principal offence for which they were dealt with was a drug offence. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of persons aged between 10 and 17 (inclusive) arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) within the 'Drugs Offences' offence group( 1) , England and Wales, 2001-02 to 2005-06( 2,3) 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 17,600 
			 2002-03 19,500 
			 2003-04 18,100 
			 2004-05 14,600 
			 2005-06 14,400 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Data for 2006-07 are not yet available.  Source: RDS-OCJR, Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of defendants aged between 10 and 17 (inclusive) proceeded against at magistrates courts and given a custodial sentence for drug offences( 1) , England and Wales, 2002 to 2006( 2, 3) 
			   Proceeded against  Immediate custody 
			 2002 5,954 150 
			 2003 6,003 173 
			 2004 5,125 181 
			 2005 5,214 200 
			 2006 4,977 214 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Data for 2007 are not yet available.  Source: RDS-OCJR, Ministry of Justice.

Entry Clearances: Thailand

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for visitor visas were made by Thai nationals in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what percentage were successful  (a) on first application and  (b) on appeal.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 April 2008
	The number of applications for visit visas made by Thai nationals (at any of our overseas posts) in each of the months during the period February 2007 to February 2008 is shown in table A as follows:
	
		
			  Table A 
			  2007  Applications  Issued  Refused  Withdrawn  Lapsed  Issue rate (percentage) 
			 February 2,131 1,855 246 7 0 88 
			 March 4,059 3,688 253 9 1 93 
			 April 2,505 2,302 232 6 1 91 
			 May 3,124 2,828 285 6 4 91 
			 June 3,006 2,726 237 12 1 92 
			 July 2,421 2,145 259 4 0 89 
			 August 2,534 2,217 289 19 1 88 
			 September 2,356 2,174 230 4 0 90 
			 October 2,689 2,395 291 12 0 89 
			 November 2,169 1,933 226 4 0 89 
			 December 1,121 1,002 134 5 0 88 
			  2008   
			 January 1,795 1,578 222 5 1 87 
			 February 2,586 2,253 250 1 0 90 
			 Total 32,496 29,096 3,154 94 9 90 
		
	
	Appeals data are only available by post, not by nationality. Data are therefore not available to show how many of those refused in the above table were later successful on appeal. The figures below in Table B relate to appeals received at our Embassy in Bangkok (and will therefore include appeals made by other nationalities). The number of appeals resolved each month during the same period, and the percentage of these that were successful, is shown.
	
		
			  Table B 
			  2007  Allowed  Dismissed  Allowed rate (percentage)  Dismissal rate (percentage) 
			 February 0 1 0 100 
			 March 0 1 0 100 
			 April 0 1 0 100 
			 May 2 1 67 33 
			 June 0 0 0 0 
			 July 1 0 100 0 
			 August 1 3 25 75 
			 September 0 2 0 100 
			 October 3 1 75 25 
			 November 2 0 100 0 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
			  2008 
			 January 1 1 50 50 
			 February 0 0 0 0

Firearms: Alcoholic Drinks

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were subject to legal proceedings arising from being in possession of a loaded firearm while under the influence of alcohol in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: Data showing the number of persons proceeded against for being drunk when in possession of a loaded firearm in England and Wales from 2002 to 2006 have been provided by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and are given in the following table.
	The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for being drunk when in possession of a loaded firearm, England and Wales, 2002 to 2006( 1, 2) 
			   Number 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 10 
			 2004 7 
			 2005 5 
			 2006 3 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Foreign Workers: Domestic Service

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultation period on migrant domestic workers visas ends; and if she will meet abused or trafficked migrant domestic workers to discuss their situation.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 2 April 2008
	Research and analysis in respect of the current provisions for overseas domestic workers is ongoing and will be published when it is completed. In the light of its findings we will consider separately, with interested parties, how best to achieve protection for any person, irrespective of how they have entered the UK, who is found to be a victim of trafficking.
	This may involve further direct meetings with migrant domestic workers or with organisations representing them.

Genetics: Databases

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the written ministerial statement of 27 June 2007,  Official Report, column 31WS, on the Justice and Home Affairs Council, when she expects the UK to begin sharing data on fingerprints, DNA and vehicle registration under the terms of the EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation.

Jacqui Smith: The EU Council Decision on the stepping up of cross-border co-operation (also know as the Prüm Council Decision) provides improved arrangements for the sharing of fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration data by law enforcement authorities. For example, where a DNA sample retrieved from a crime scene is searched against a national database and no match is found, the Council Decision permits for those data to be transmitted and searched through member states' national databases. A notification is sent to the requesting member state notifying of a hit or no hit i.e. matching profile. If a match is identified, further requests for information are processed through existing secure police channels allowing for appropriate data protection safeguards.
	The UK expects to begin sharing data in this way within three years of adoption and publication of the legal texts.

Immigration

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the two teams announced in paragraph 13 of her Department's Green Paper "The Path to Citizenship: Next Steps in Reforming the Immigration System" will make their report.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 April 2008
	The two cross-departmental teams are scoping work and will provide advice to Ministers in the summer.

Immigration: EC Action

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon in respect of  (a) uniform standards for asylum and  (b) the rights of legal immigrants from outside the EU.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 April 2008
	 The provisions set out a more detailed analysis of the basic principles of Article 63 on minimum standards for asylum and legal migration in the Treaty Establishing the European Community.
	Under the Lisbon treaty the UK will be able to choose whether or not to participate in each individual Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) measure.

Metropolitan Police: Carbon Emissions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of carbon offsetting through the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund by the Metropolitan Police Service for travel in 2006-07 was for air travel  (a) by those on official business outside London and  (b) for operational police purposes within London.

Liam Byrne: Participation in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund and air travel undertaken by the Metropolitan Police within and outside London are matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. However, a list of Government Carbon Offsetting Fund members, their emission figures and what activities they have offset through the fund is available online at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/carbonoffset/government.htm

Offenders: Deportation

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the reply of the Chief Executive of the Border and Immigration Agency to question 18 of the evidence session before the Home Affairs Committee on 15 January 2008, in how many cases deportation of a foreign individual serving more than 12 months has not occurred because of  (a) a decision by a court and  (b) a decision not to seek deportation for other reasons.

Liam Byrne: The information requested could be obtained only through the detailed examination of individual records at disproportionate cost. We have made clear that our objective is that foreign national prisoners should face deportation, when they meet the relevant criteria, and that deportation should happen as early as possible in their sentence.

Police

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has issued to the police on dealing with people who voluntarily present themselves at police stations to help police with enquiries.

Jacqui Smith: Code C issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 is the code of practice for the detention, treatment and questioning of persons by police officers. Persons who attend the police station voluntarily must be offered refreshments at appropriate times and if they are not arrested but are cautioned, informed that they have the right to obtain free legal advice. There are no restrictions on the ability of the person to make contact with people outside the police station. The code also requires that any person who is arrested at the police station having attended voluntarily must be brought before the custody officer as soon as possible after their arrest. The custody officer is then responsible for opening a custody record for the individual and ensuring that the relevant provisions and safeguards in PACE are applied.

Police: Public Opinion

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the findings of opinion polls on changes in public attitudes towards the police.

Jacqui Smith: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely includes a question on confidence in the local police and the results are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Crime in England and Wales, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.
	Following a long period of declining levels of confidence in the police, there have been rising levels of confidence in recent years. The 2006-07 BCS showed that 51 per cent. of people thought their local police did a good or excellent job.

Pornography: Internet

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under the Communications Act 2003 for using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images.

Jacqui Smith: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images under the Communications Act 2003 S.127 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006 can be viewed in the following table.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	The Communications Act 2003 Section 127 came into full force on 29 December 2003.
	
		
			  N umber of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to using the internet to upload offensive or indecent images under the Communications Act 2003 S.127 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2006( 1,2,3,4) 
			   Proceeded against 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 214 
			 2005 355 
			 2006 550 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) The communications Act S.127 came into full force on 29 December 2003 (3) Data include the following statute and corresponding offence description: Communications Act 2003 S.127 - Improper use of public electronic communications network. (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, other agencies, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Court proceedings data held by RDS - Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Public Order Offences

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether people arrested for public order offences when drunk are routinely tested for illegal drugs;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of people arrested for public order offences who were found to have taken cocaine in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(3)  whether people arrested for public order offences are routinely tested for illegal drugs.

Vernon Coaker: Drug testing of offenders for specified Class A drugs in police custody operates as part of the Drug Interventions Programme in some 176 custody suites across England and Wales.
	The police currently have the power to request persons aged 18 and over in police detention who have been charged or arrested with a "trigger offence", to provide a sample for testing for the presence of a specified Class A drug.
	The trigger offences are set out in Schedule 6 to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. These are the offences which have been shown to have the clearest link with drug misuse, particularly the misuse of heroin and cocaine/crack. The Drugs Intervention Programme regularly reviews the list of trigger offences.
	A person arrested or charged with a non trigger offence may be tested if a police officer decides that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Class A drug use caused or contributed to the offence. The decision to authorise a sample must be referred to a police officer of at least the rank of Inspector.
	Public order offences are not among the list of trigger offences which require the police to test the offender for the presence of specified Class A drugs including cocaine although tests can be conducted using Inspector's Authority.
	Between 2003 and February 2008, some 2283 tests were conducted for Public Order offences, 32 per cent. (728) of them tested positive for the presence of cocaine. Of these 481 tested positive for cocaine only and 247 for both cocaine and opiates.

Racial Violence

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racially motivated violent attacks took place in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) the North East,  (c) the Tees Valley and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: The available information relates to recorded offences of racially or religiously aggravated less serious wounding and assault without injury and is available from 1999-2000. Figures for England and Wales and the North East are given in the following tables. The Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency comes within the Middlesbrough Basic Command Unit for which figures are available from 2000-01. Data for Tees Valley are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: racially or religiously aggravated offences of violence recorded by the police—2000-01 and 2001-02 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			  Area  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury 
			 England and Wales 2,687 4,275 3,176 4,711 3,463 5,164 
			 North East Region 29 27 39 54 64 97 
			 Middlesbrough BCU n/a n/a 1 4 6 1 
			 n/a = Not available.  Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. Prior to that date assault without injury under Home Office Counting rules could include some minor injury. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: racially or religiously aggravated offences of violence recorded by the police—2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  Area  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury  Less serious wounding  Assault without injury 
			 England and Wales 4,415 4,602 4,930 4,161 5,426 3,866 6,107 3,945 5,619 4,350 
			 North East Region 68 345 144 124 161 89 182 93 191 109 
			 Middlesbrough BCU 8 7 17 17 15 8 15 19 7 20 
			  Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Because of this figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. Prior to that date assault without injury under Home Office Counting rules could include some minor injury.

Security: Licensing

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licence applications were not determined by the Security Industry Authority within  (a) three months,  (b) six months and  (c) 12 months in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The SIA is currently making a number of improvements to its handling of applications.
	The most recent period for which figures from the Security Industry Authority are available is October 2007. During that month approximately 861 applications, representing about 10 per cent. of the total applications decided that month, took the SIA over three months to determine. The reasons for the longer processing times in such cases would have included the need to make further inquiries of the applicant, or await the outcome of additional checks in respect of, for example, any overseas criminality convictions, clarification of qualifications or the right to work in the UK. The SIA does not hold data which show how many applications were not determined within 6 or 12 months.

Terrorism

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff are employed by her Department  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time on the Prevent strand of Project Contest.

Jacqui Smith: The Prevent aspects of the Government's strategy on counter-terrorism are dealt with in the Home Office by the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT). The Home Office also works with other Government Departments and agencies on Prevent.
	24 full-time and two part-time Home Office staff are currently engaged directly on Prevent. This number will increase in accordance with the priority attached to this work. In addition, there are several other members of staff in the Home Office who are engaged on Prevent work as part of their wider responsibilities for counter-terrorism.
	The current cross-Whitehall total of staff (including those in the Home Office) fully employed on Prevent is 83 full time staff and 22 part-time staff. There are staff in other agencies not included in the following list who are also working on Prevent. Details are as follows:
	DCSF: two full-time and two part-time;
	DIUS: one full-time and four part-time;
	DCMS: one full-time;
	MOD (including NOMS): seven full-time
	MoJ and DSCF (joint post): one part-time;
	FCO: 19 full-time;
	DFID: seven full-time and one part-time;
	DWP: three part-time;
	CLG: 22 full-time;
	RICU (cross-Whitehall unit): nine part-time;
	HO: 24 full-time and two part-time.
	In addition, more and more local government and police forces are directly engaging staff on Prevent work.

TREASURY

Disabled People

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets his Department has set in relation to its employment of people with disabilities over the next five years.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury, in common with other Whitehall Departments, has adopted the targets set out in the Cabinet Office's 10 point plan on diversity in relation to the employment of people with disabilities. The current target for the Treasury's senior civil service on the representation of employees with disabilities is 3.2 per cent. and for the feeder grades to the Treasury's senior civil service the target is 5.0 per cent.
	The current targets, set for 2005-08, will be revised post April 2008. Work is under way on setting targets for 2008-11.

Energy: Prices

Linda Riordan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effects on the economy of recent changes in energy prices.

Angela Eagle: The Government published their latest assessment of recent economic developments and prospects in the Financial Statement and Budget report on 12 March 2008.

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assumption he has made of the number of new cars paying the first year charge vehicle excise duty in  (a) Band E,  (b) Band F,  (c) Band G,  (d) Band H,  (e) Band I,  (f) Band J,  (g) Band K,  (h) Band L and  (i) Band M in 2010-11 in relation to the Red Book tax revenue calculations in line 35 Table 1.2, page 9; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assumption he has made of the number of existing cars paying vehicle excise duty in  (a) Band A,  (b) Band B,  (c) Band C,  (d) Band D,  (e) Band E,  (f) Band F,  (g) Band G,  (h) Band H,  (i) Band I,  (j) Band J,  (k) Band K,  (l) Band L and  (m) Band M in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 in relation to the Red Book tax revenue calculations in line 35 Table 1.2, page 9; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The number of new cars assumed to be paying the first year VED rate in 2010-11 are: 461,865 in band E; 367,998 in band F; 365,726 in band G; 209,668 in band H; 164,899 in band I; 190,705 in band J; 110,257 in band K; 65,169 in band L and 57,096 in band M.
	The number of existing cars assumed to be paying VED in each band in each of the years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11, are as set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Band  CO 2  (g/km)  2008-09 
			 A Up to 100 395 
			 B 101-120 435,128 
			 C 121-150 4,475,675 
			 D 151-165 3,600,604 
			 E 166-185 2,988,220 
			 F Over 185 3,833,614 
			 G Over 226 319,155 
		
	
	
		
			  Band  CO 2  (g/km)  2009-10  2010-11 
			 A Up to 100 402 406 
			 B 101-110 159,677 213,780 
			 C 111-120 391,784 461,838 
			 D 121-130 545,764 659,329 
			 E 131-140 1,958,283 2,350,966 
			 F 141-150 2,709,904 3,024,826 
			 G 151-160 2,897,680 3,194,682 
			 H 161-170 2,133,478 2,348,648 
			 I 171-180 1,627,854 1,747,207 
			 J 181-200 2,354,888 2,523,103 
			 K 201-225 2,430,478 1,424,751 
			 L 226-255 216,319 936,364 
			 M Over 255 240,371 709,042

Income Tax: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people in Bexley paid income tax at the 10 pence basic rate in 2007-08;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on residents of Bexley in receipt of occupational pensions of abolition of the 10 pence rate of income tax.

Jane Kennedy: The removal of the 10p rate is part of a package of reforms announced in Budget 2007 to simplify the personal tax system and provide more support to families and pensioners. The package includes increasing age-related allowances by £1,180 above indexation, meaning that every person qualifying for these allowances will pay no more tax than without the reforms announced in Budget 2007 and removing 600,000 pensioners from paying tax.
	Estimates of the number paying tax at the starting rate in the UK for 2007-08 are given in Table 2.5 based on projections of the 2004-05 Survey of Personal Incomes. This table can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs website and will be updated with the results of the 2005-06 survey at the end of April.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/menu.htm
	Available information on numbers of taxpayers in each London borough is shown in table T3.14, which can be found at the HM Revenue and Customs website.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu.htm
	The effect of the package on households in receipt of occupational pensions will depend on their circumstances, for example, their age, whether they have dependent children and other income.

Northern Rock

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the EU capital requirements directive on the liquidity of Northern Rock in the last 12 months.

Angela Eagle: The assessment of the capital and liquidity position of banks, and the linkages between the two, is a matter for the Financial Services Authority as banking supervisor. The FSA monitors these on an ongoing basis. The introduction of the capital requirements directive has not changed this underlying position.

VAT: Sunscreens

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to make suntan lotions for children zero-rated for VAT.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 April 2007,  Official Report, column 998W, to the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink).

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Construction

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many construction apprenticeship  (a) starts and  (b) completions there were in each region in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The information requested is provided in the following table. Figures for the number of completions in 2006/07 are not currently available but will be by the summer.
	
		
			  Construction apprenticeships starts and framework completions by region of learner's home postcode 2002/03 to 2006/07 
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07 
			  Region( 1)  Starts  Framework completions  Starts  Framework completions  Starts  Framework completions  Starts  Framework completions  Starts 
			 East Midlands 2,113 247 1,479 230 1,722 615 1,056 692 1,525 
			 East of England 2,217 202 1,136 251 1,740 512 1,266 348 1,570 
			 London 848 42 1,296 242 906 89 1,782 1,056 2,634 
			 North East 2,825 277 721 92 2,220 762 640 601 681 
			 North West 4,998 435 1,660 245 4,194 1,266 1,819 513 2,354 
			 South East 2,802 168 1,378 254 1,942 621 2,725 1,055 3,366 
			 South West 2,722 161 1,537 295 1,859 460 1,572 789 2,275 
			 West Midlands 1,557 207 1,132 265 1,484 483 1,061 889 1,397 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3,357 151 1,312 248 2,462 891 1,153 2,444 1,791 
			  Total England 23,439 1,890 11,651 2,122 18,529 5,699 13,074 8,387 17,593 
			 Northern Ireland — — 100 22 — — 66 2 110 
			 Scotland 24 2 1,979 379 26 7 1,162 278 1,347 
			 Wales 57 10 655 106 43 12 851 431 1,092 
			  Total UK 23,520 1,902 14,385 2,629 18,598 5,718 15,153 9,098 20, 742 
			 Not Recorded 186 35 844 146 144 35 578 400 862 
			 Total 23,706 1,937 15,229 2,775 18,742 5,753 15,731 9,498 21,004 
			 (1) Region is based on the home postcode of the learner, where residential learning is taking place in the MOD, the postcode of where the learner is based is used.  Notes: 1. Includes all age groups and both apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships. 2. Frameworks included in construction are 107, engineering construction and 116, construction.  Source: Work Based Learning Individualised Learner Record.

Departmental Consultants

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which external consultants have been contracted by his Department since it was established for contracts in excess of £50,000; and what the work contracted for was.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Since this time the Department has spent in excess of £50,000 on the following:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Outsights Ltd 513,714.71 
			 KPMG 391,905.25 
			 Company Reporting Ltd 208,416.67 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 198,212.00 
			 SHIFTN 127,920.00 
			 Saxton Bampfylde Hever Plc 119,493.06 
			 PA Consulting Group 103,075.00 
			 Tribal Consulting Ltd 101,168.55 
			 Evidence Ltd 75,470.00 
			 Jags Consulting Ltd T/A Jags Consul 72,100.00 
			 Dialogue By Design 58,234.00 
			 Enterprise (AOL) Limited 54,400.00 
			 KMC International 51,451.10 
		
	
	To investigate specific contracts in excess of £50,000 would be at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Electricity

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on electricity in each month in the latest 12 month period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Since this time, the Department has spent on electricity, a total of £32,023.54. This can be split up further into £31,816.23 to the end of November and £207.31 in January. DCSF provides DIUS with share services which include the provision of office space, an element of this expenditure relates to electricity, but split obtainable only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much was spent on the most recent redesign and implementation of his Departmental website.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was formed on 28 June 2007, following the machinery of Government changes. Costs for the design and implementation of the departmental website to date are projected to be in the region of £85,000.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what criminal offences have been created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since July 2007.

David Lammy: Since July 2007, there has been one Act sponsored by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills—the Further Education and Training Act 2007. This Act did not create any criminal offences.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many  (a) permanent civil service posts,  (b) permanent non-civil service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers in employment in his Department there were in each month since May 2005.

David Lammy: The Department was created by Machinery of Government changes in July 2007 from elements of the then Department of Trade and Industry and Department for Education and Skills. For this reason—and until spring 2009—we are continuing to operate from two Human Resource databases and two separate payrolls for all employees.
	As regards part  (a) of the question, we are able to provide quarterly 'snapshots' of information about the number of permanent civil servant posts, as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 July 2007 762 
			 October 2007 793 
			 January 2008 825 
			 April 2008 808 
		
	
	 (b) There are no permanent non-civil servant posts in the Department; and
	 (c) records of temporary or agency workers are not held centrally and to collect this information would involve disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the 10 highest salaries paid by his Department to non-civil servants are.

David Lammy: The Department was set up as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. In the subsequent period, as part of the process of establishing the new Department, it has been necessary on occasion to engage the services of contractors, consultants and temporary staff who are usually not employees and are not on the DIUS payroll. Aside from this situation, the non-civil servants on the payroll are Ministers whose salaries are already in the public domain.

Departmental Public Expenditure

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the 10 highest items of expenditure on purchases by his Department were in the last 12 months for which are available.

David Lammy: We are unable to provide a response to this question as it does not specify sufficiently the basis on which these data are sought.
	To illustrate, the question does not state if it relates to running or capital costs or both, and if it relates to individual contracts or suppliers.

Departmental Translation Services

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much translation of documents produced by his Department in the last 12 months has cost, broken down by language.

David Lammy: The Department has made payments for translation services to the value of £11,094.25 during the financial year 2007-08. To investigate as to whether these services were provided for the translation of documents and into language category would be at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many written questions to his Department had not received an answer as at 25 February 2008 for  (a) between two and four,  (b) between four and six,  (c) between six and eight and  (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer.

David Lammy: The Department received a total number of 889 PQs during the period covering 6 November 2007 to 25 February 2008. According to our records, the breakdown of questions, at least two weeks old, that had not received an answer on 25 February 2008 was as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   (a) Two to four weeks  (b) Four to six weeks  (c) Six to eight weeks  (d) More than eight weeks  Total 
			 Commons Named Day 0 0 1 1 2 
			 Commons Written 5 3 3 16 27 
			 Total 5 3 4 17 29

Departmental Written Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what progress his Department has made on its parliamentary question tracking system to record whether named day questions are provided with a substantive answer on the due day since November 2007.

David Lammy: Although parts of the Department's PQ tracking system have been upgraded there is still some outstanding work to be completed on the parts of the system that provide management information reports. In the interim, the parliamentary team are maintaining a manual check on all named day questions to monitor the timeliness of replies.

Learning and Skills Councils: North West

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to increase the revenue budget of the Learning and Skills Council for the North West to meet objectives to reduce the number of young people not in education, training or employment.

David Lammy: Progress is being made in reducing the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). Latest figures show that 206,200 (10.3 per cent.) 16 to 18-year-olds were NEET at the end of 2006, a reduction from 217,000 (10.9 per cent.) at the end of 2005.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) makes decisions about allocations of funding to specific areas based on strategic discussions with local partners about the range of provision that is needed.
	The overall north-west NEET budget is increasing, with the direct NEET programme funding increasing from £3.75 million in 2007-08 to £3.95 million in 2008-09, including a pilot programme for KS4 pupils at risk of disengagement, and funding for a parents to be programme.
	There are also other sources of funds including from the LSC and also local authorities that directly or indirectly support young people who are NEET.

Official Gifts

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what use his Department makes of items from the Donated Asset Reserve; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. The Department does not have any items held within a Donated Asset Reserve.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Capita

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many employees of Capita plc have been  (a) seconded to his Department and  (b) appointed to his Department's non departmental public bodies since 1997; to which body each secondment or appointment was made; and for how long each secondment or appointment lasted.

Phil Hope: There have been no employees of Capita plc seconded to the Cabinet Office since 1997. Currently, no appointees to Cabinet Office non-departmental public bodies are employees of Capita plc. Details of past appointees to Cabinet Office non-departmental public bodies since 1997 and their employment history are not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) permanent civil service posts,  (b) permanent non-civil service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers in employment there were in his Department in each month since May 2005.

Phil Hope: From latest available figures as at 31 December 2007, there were 1,222 posts (FTE) within the Cabinet Office filled by permanent civil servants. This figure includes permanent Cabinet Office staff and staff on loan from another Government Department.
	In addition, there were 182 non-permanent staff (FTE). This figure includes staff on a fixed term or short-term appointment, staff seconded in from outside the civil service, fee-paid staff, agency staff, consultants and contractors.

Departmental Pay

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost of  (a) salaries for permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) salaries for permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) payments to temporary or agency workers in his Department was in each month since May 2005.

Phil Hope: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Total annual costs for the wages and associated employment costs of permanently employed staff, agency staff, Ministers and special advisers are provided in note 9 (Staff numbers and related costs) to the Department's annual report and resource accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services were provided by polling companies for his Department in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.

Migration: Statistics

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the workplan published by the Interdepartmental Task Force laying out the actions needed to improve the estimates of migration is Government policy.

Phil Hope: The Government welcome the report of the task force and is fully supportive of efforts to further improve migration data. Governance arrangements have been established by the National Statistician, in consultation with Departments, to ensure work progresses according to agreed work plans and she will be responsible for overseeing delivery.
	On 4 February, the Minister for Local Government, John Healey, announced to the House that a cross-government programme would be put in place, driven by senior officials from central Government and the Local Government Association, and led by the National Statistician. This Programme Board of officials will help steer the work and advise on priorities.
	A ministerial group will support the National Statistician and help drive forward the changes. This latter group is to be chaired jointly by John Healey, the Minister for Local Government, and Liam Byrne, Home Office Minister of State for Borders and Immigration, for the Government. The UK Statistics Authority will ensure the quality of the statistics that are produced.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Council of England: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of Arts Council England's annual budget, as announced in his Department's press release 117/07, dated 12 October 2007, has been reserved for future partnership schemes with his Department.

Margaret Hodge: The following amount of Arts Council England funding have been reserved for future partnership schemes with my Department over the next three years.
	
		
			  £000 
			  Budget  Joint research budget  Taking Part  Living Places  ArtCo 
			 2008-09 200 300 24 100,000 
			 2009-10 200 300 — 100,000 
			 2010-11 200 300 — — 
		
	
	The Arts Council will also be contributing towards the jointly owned work programme of the cultural services improvement unit at the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). A figure for this contribution has not yet been finalised.

Conference Centres

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department provides  (a) capital and  (b) revenue support to any conference or exhibition centre; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: According to the Department's records, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not provide any capital or revenue support to conference and/or exhibition centres.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criminal offences have been abolished by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since May 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of his Department's budget as allocated in the Comprehensive Spending Review is yet to be assigned.

Andy Burnham: In successive spending reviews, we have sought to allocate settlements in full over the three years of each review. This provides our sponsored bodies with maximum financial certainty within which to plan ahead for the development and provision of excellent services. Some scope to change plans is provided at the margin by end year flexibility.
	Accordingly, our resource budget is fully allocated. Our capital budget is almost fully allocated.

English Sports Council: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of Sport England's annual budget for 2008-09 has been reserved for future partnership schemes with his Department.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England will contribute at least £600,000 to part fund the Taking Part Survey commissioned by the Department and its key non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), £36,000 towards a joint research budget for the Department and its NDPBs, and £25,000 towards the administration of the Living Places Partnership, an agreement between the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department and its partner NDPBs and the Academy for Sustainable Communities, to ensure that all communities can benefit from cultural and sporting opportunities.
	Sport England is still considering whether a contribution will be made to the Improvement and Development Agency for local government (IDeA) for the coming year. Sport England will agree its overall strategy in May 2008.
	The exact figures will be available once their 2008-09 budget has been set.

Euclid

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what services his Department obtained from Euclid in each of the last three years; and what the cost of these services was in each year.

Margaret Hodge: Euclid is contracted by DCMS to act as the UK's cultural contact point (CCP) for the European Union's Culture Programme. Euclid provides European and international information, research and consultancy services to the cultural sector, including guidance on funding opportunities. The UK CCP receives funding of £50,000 from the European Commission annually and my Department match funds to this amount. The current CCP contract runs from January 2007 until December 2009.
	Euclid also holds the contract to promote the European Year of Intercultural dialogue in the UK. The cost of this contract was a one off payment of £10,000.

Internet: Children

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost of the Byron Review has been.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 2 April 2008
	Dr. Tanya Byron published her report on 27 March 2008 and the Government have accepted her recommendations. The review has just ended and while accounting procedures are still to be completed, we estimate that a total of around £275,000 has been spent on the review, not including salaries and expenses of the civil servants on the Review's secretariat.
	This included expenditure on consultation with parents and other stakeholders, and a comprehensive literature review.
	This expenditure has been incurred in accordance with the Cabinet Office guidelines and a value for money assessment.

Mobile Phones: Rural Areas

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is being done to promote better mobile telephone coverage in rural areas of the country.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	The mobile network operators build base stations in order to meet customers need for coverage and service. The decision to build in a particular location is largely a commercial matter for the operators.
	For new 3G networks, an 80 per cent. population coverage obligation by 2007 was placed on each licence holder to encourage network rollout. This could equate to approximately 45 per cent. land area coverage averaged over the whole of the United Kingdom. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) has now completed its assessment of compliance with the obligation and has proposed action against O2, the one operator not yet having complied. However coverage beyond this obligation would again be a commercial matter for operators. For 2G or GSM networks the original coverage obligations laid on GSM operators were discharged many years ago and have been significantly exceeded on a voluntary basis.
	In some areas, opposition to mast construction can have detrimental effect on operators' plans to extend mobile phone coverage. It is possible that a direct approach to an operator indicating a suitable site might be productive in obtaining greater mobile coverage for an area.

Museum, Libraries and Archives Council: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council's budget for 2008-09 has been reserved for future partnership schemes with his Department.

Margaret Hodge: The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) is contributing £80,000 towards the "Taking Part" survey commissioned by the Department and its partner non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs); £78,000 towards the jointly owned work programme of the cultural services improvement unit at the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA); £24,000 towards the administration of the Living Places Partnership—an agreement between the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department and its partner NDPBs and the Academy for Sustainable Communities—to ensure that all communities can benefit from cultural and sporting opportunities, particularly those experiencing housing-led growth and regeneration; and £7,000 towards a joint research budget for the Department and its partner NDPBs.

Tourism: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to promote tourism in Essex since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Government support for tourism promotion in the east of England, and the other eight regions of England, has increased substantially since 1997.
	From 1997-98 to 2002-03, the east of England tourist board received funding of between £427,000 and £868,000 per year from the former English Tourism Council (previously known as the English Tourist Board).
	As part of the DCMS Tourism Reform programme, responsibility for supporting tourism passed to the regional development agencies (RDAs), including the east of England development agency (EEDA) in 2003. The RDAs together estimate total spending of £43.5 million on tourism support in 2007-08. EEDA has invested substantially in sector, with £0.8 million, £1.5 million and £1.8 million in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively.
	At national level, DCMS funds VisitBritain to market and promote all parts of England, including the east of England, to domestic and international visitors. Spreading the benefits of this work is an important part of the relevant funding agreement, which requires VisitBritain to achieve a specified proportion of additional expenditure by inbound visitors outside London. For 2005-06, the target was 55 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 61 per cent. For 2006-07, the target was 54 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 57 per cent.
	Further support for the sector, including the bulk of promotion to the domestic market (which makes up around 80 per cent. of the sector), is led by local councils. DCMS has also made substantial investment in heritage, arts and culture throughout the country since 1997. These sectors, in addition to their intrinsic value to the nation's cultural life, benefit the visitor economy.

Tourism: North East

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government has taken to promote tourism in the North East since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Government support for tourism promotion in the north east, and the other eight regions of England, has increased substantially since 1997.
	From 1997-98 to 2002-03, the Northumbria Tourist Board received funding of between £241,000 and £570,000 a year from the former English Tourism Council (previously known as the English Tourist Board).
	As part of the DCMS Tourism Reform Programme, responsibility for supporting tourism passed to the regional development agencies (RDAs), including One NorthEast (ONE) in 2003. The RDAs together estimate total spending of £43.5 million on tourism support in 2007-08. ONE has made a substantial investment in the tourism sector; including funding of £1.7 million, £4.4 and £3.6 million in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 respectively to promote the north east.
	At national level, DCMS funds VisitBritain to market and promote all parts of England, including the north east, to domestic and international visitors. Spreading the benefits of this work is an important part of the relevant funding agreement, which requires VisitBritain to achieve a specified proportion of additional expenditure by inbound visitors outside London. For 2005-06, the target was 55 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 61 per cent. For 2006-07, the target was 54 per cent. and VisitBritain achieved 57 per cent.
	Further support for the sector, including the bulk of promotion to the domestic market (which makes up around 80 per cent. of the sector), is led by local councils. DCMS has also made substantial investment in heritage, arts and culture throughout the country since 1997. These sectors, in addition to their intrinsic value to the nation's cultural life, benefit the visitor economy.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Children: Poverty

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government have taken to reduce child poverty globally in the last year.

Gillian Merron: The UK Government have committed significant funds for reducing child poverty, including £8.5 billion for education (2007-15), £150 million for children affected by HIV/AIDS (2004-2007) and over £7 million for addressing forced labour and child labour.
	In addition the Department for International Development supports children and young people through direct funding to non-governmental organisations, including Plan UK (2007-2011; £3.1 million for the first three years) and Save the Children (2005-2011; £20.7 million for the first three years). In 2007 a joint DFID and civil society network on children was established to learn from civil society experience of working to promote child rights and reduce child poverty. DFID has also contributed £7 million (2006-2009) to the 'Young Lives project', which is a 15 year study of child poverty in four countries.
	In 2008 HMG is leading on a global 'Call to Action' around the millennium development goals (the MDGs), which focus on achieving measurably improved outcomes for millions of the world's most deprived children on for example income poverty, nutrition and access to education and health services. DFID will be renewing efforts around the MDGs and we will also be working with other international players to ensure that the global community—including the business community—commit all the resources and energy needed to reduce child poverty.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Gillian Merron: Non-permanent members of staff at the Department for International Development (DFID) receive payment on either an annual salary basis or an hourly rate basis, depending on the terms of their contract.
	Non-permanent, salaried staff are recruited to fill a wide range of managerial, advisory and administrative posts, and salaries vary significantly depending on the post held. The salary may also be subject to review during the period of their appointment. Details of the hourly rates of pay for all salaried non-permanent members of staff for each of the last 12 months could only be provided at disproportionate cost, following a detailed review of each individual's salary records.
	DFID also appoints non-permanent staff through recruitment agencies to undertake both administrative and specialist roles, including IT and communications specialists. Administrative appointments are managed centrally, but individual departments within DFID have delegated authority to engage specialist staff. Records are not held centrally for this group.
	Since April 2007 the majority of administrative appointments have been made through two agencies serving our two headquarters locations—one in London and one in East Kilbride. The average hourly rate paid for these agency staff over the past 12 months (from April 2007 to March 2008) is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 London 11.36 
			 East Kilbride 9.27 
			  Note: Under the terms of the contract with the agency suppliers, DFID is unable to make public information that may be of value to a competitor. This specifically precludes us releasing details of the hourly rates paid for each grade of staff. 
		
	
	The number of staff appointed through these agencies in each of the last 12 months is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  2007  Number 
			 April 6 
			 May 10 
			 June 14 
			 July 18 
			 August 19 
			 September 24 
			 October 27 
			 November 29 
			 December 33 
			  2008  
			 January 38 
			 February 47 
			 March 53

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many working days were lost by his Department due to stress-related illness in each of the last 24 months.

Gillian Merron: Details of the working days lost by the Department for International Development (DFID) to stress related illnesses for each month from January 2006 to December 2007 (i.e. the last 24 months for which collated details are available) are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Working days lost to stress related illnesses 
			   2006  2007 
			 January 148 156 
			 February 142 75 
			 March 157 30 
			 April 120 24 
			 May 105 18 
			 June 84 15 
			 July 60 38 
			 August 63 56 
			 September 36 65 
			 October 67 104 
			 November 120 154 
			 December 188 147

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many days sick leave were taken on average by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: For the years 2003-07 the average working days per employee lost to sick leave for the Department for International Development (DFID) are:
	
		
			   Sick leave 
			 2003 7.0 
			 2004 4.8 
			 2005 5.7 
			 2006 5.0 
			 2007 4.4

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's staff took more than  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15,  (d) 20,  (e) 25,  (f) 30,  (g) 35 and  (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, broken down by pay grade.

Gillian Merron: The numbers of Department for International Development (DFID) staff, by pay grade, who took more than  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15,  (d) 20,  (e) 25,  (f) 30,  (g) 35 and  (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Stress related sick absences 
			   >5 days  >10 days  >15 days  >20 days  >25 days  >30 days  >35 days  >40 days  Total 
			  2003  
			 SCS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 A1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 B1D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 81 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 
			 B2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 4 
			 C1 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 9 
			 C2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 
			 Total 5 4 1 1 3 2 0 9 25 
			   
			  2004  
			 SCS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 
			 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 B1D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 B1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 
			 B2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 6 
			 C1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 5 
			 C2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 5 
			 Total 4 5 0 0 1 1 2 11 24 
			   
			  2005  
			 SCS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 A1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 A3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 B1D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 B2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 7 
			 C1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 6 
			 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 
			 Total 2 1 1 2 1 0 3 14 24 
			   
			  2006  
			 SCS 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 B1D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 B1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 6 
			 B2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 6 
			 C1 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 3 11 
			 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Total 4 3 3 3 1 0 1 12 27 
			   
			  2007  
			 SCS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 A2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 
			 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 B1D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 B1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 
			 B2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 5 
			 C1 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 2 8 
			 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 2 2 1 6 1 2 0 8 22

Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries have committed funding for the Global Fund to fight AIDS; and how much each has committed.

Gillian Merron: About 30 donors, including the private sector and private foundations, have either pledged or are projected to contribute a total of $9.7 billion to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the period 2008-2010.
	A table setting out these pledges in detail has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. A more detailed spreadsheet showing all pledges and contributions since the Global Fund was established can be found on the Global Fund's website:
	http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/files/pledges&contributions.xls
	The UK pledged £360 million, with £30 million of this subject to demand and results and an additional £640 million from 2011-15, providing the Global Fund is receiving good quality proposals from countries, continues to perform well, and is demonstrating sustainable impact.

Health Services

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department provides health or social care services out of public funds, with reference to the Statement by the Minister of State, Department of Health, in the Health and Social Care Bill Committee, of 17 January 2008,  Official Report, column 327.

Gillian Merron: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not currently provide social care services paid for out of public funds.
	DFID does provide healthcare services for staff working and living overseas. In the majority of circumstances, this service facilitates referrals into the NHS, but occasionally makes use, as appropriate, of medical services overseas, the cost of which is paid for from public funds.

Karian and Box

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the value was of each contract awarded by his Department to Karian and Box since 1997.

Shahid Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) has no record of current or previous contracts with Karian and Box for the period requested.

Somalia: Food

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the World Food Programme on the situation in Somalia.

Gillian Merron: DFID officials are in regular and sustained contact with the WFP regarding food aid needs in Somalia, overall humanitarian and food aid strategies and logistical matters. These contacts include telephone calls, meetings in Nairobi and joint visits to Somalia.
	DFID is the second largest contributor to the WFP element of the 2008 UN Humanitarian Appeal for Somalia.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Admiralty House

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2564W, on Admiralty House, 
	(1)  what the  (a) make,  (b) model and  (c) energy efficiency rating of the (i) washer dryer, (ii) tumble dryer and (iii) fridge-freezer was;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library copies of departmental purchase orders 228224, 225497, 228317, 228314 and 228318 in relation to the minor works undertaken.

Meg Munn: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Departmental purchase orders and supplies of appliances are not normally disclosed for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the  (a) UN High Commissioner for Refugees and  (b) government of (i) India and (ii) Bangladesh on the potential numbers of people migrating from Chin state, western Burma as a result of famine and human rights violations;
	(2)  what reports he has received of famine in Chin state, western Burma; what steps he has taken to investigate such reports; and what steps he plans to take in the event of such reports being confirmed.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development to the hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield the (Mr. Mitchell) on 25 March 2008,  Official Report, column 34W.
	We are aware that in parts of Chin state, as well as neighbouring areas in India and Bangladesh, people are experiencing significant hardship due to rodent infestations and consequent crop damage. The Department for International Development (DFID) is in contact with the UN Development Programme and World Food Programme about what humanitarian response may be required. DFID already provides a significant amount of support to Chin state from inside Burma. We also closely monitor the human rights situation in Burma, including abuses committed against ethnic groups.
	We have received no reports of any recent upsurge in levels of migration across Indian and Bangladeshi borders from Chin state and as a result have not discussed the issue with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees or Indian and Bangladeshi governments. We do, however, discuss conditions in Burma generally and the plight of refugees from Burma with neighbouring countries.

Commonwealth: Students

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he has made to ensure continued scholarship opportunities for high quality doctoral students from developed Commonwealth countries following his decision to terminate funding for Commonwealth Scholarships in the UK after 2008-09.

Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has committed £79,110,000 to scholarship funding (including to Commonwealth countries) over the next three years in accordance with the FCO's global strategy and priorities. Other sources of funding for overseas doctoral students performing research in the UK are available through research councils and universities themselves.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criminal offences have been abolished by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since May 1997.

Meg Munn: Criminal offences under the Genocide Act 1969 were repealed by the International Criminal Court Act 2001; the International Criminal Court Act 2001, however, re-enacted the crime of genocide, with a wider jurisdictional ambit.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criminal offences have been created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since July 2007.

Meg Munn: No new primary legislation sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been enacted in the period in question.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Meg Munn: In the UK the Foreign and Commonwealth Office employs the following categories of non-permanent staff:
	external consultants/contractors;
	temporary staff supplied by employment agencies; and
	fee-paid staff paid an hourly rate.
	The terms under which we employ consultants and contractors vary according to each contract or supply agreement. We do not hold a central record of these agreements.
	In respect of the rates we have paid to non-permanent staff supplied by employment agencies I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 328W to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart).
	In each of the past 12 months we have employed the following numbers of non-permanent fee-paid staff at the following hourly rates. The hourly rates are themselves based on annual salaries for permanent staff in the corresponding grade:
	
		
			  Month  Number  Hourly minimum (£)  Hourly maximum (£) 
			 March 2008 26 9.18 35.12 
			 February 2008 28 9.18 35.12 
			 January 2008 29 6.91 35.12 
			 December 2007 24 6.91 35.12 
			 November 2007 25 6.91 35.12 
			 October 2007 29 6.91 55.56 
			 September 2007 27 6.91 55.56 
			 August 2007 23 6.91 55.56 
			 July 2007 21 6.91 55.56 
			 June 2007 16 9.18 55.56 
			 May 2007 11 9.18 55.56 
			 April 2007 8 13.13 55.56

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Environment Policy Statement on Operations is available on the FCO's website at the following address:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/how-we-are-organised/improvements/environmental-performance.

Gaza: Politics and Government

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions on the political situation in Gaza he has had with  (a) Cabinet colleagues,  (b) the Israeli authorities,  (c) Palestinian officials and  (d) non-governmental organisations.

Meg Munn: The UK is working intensively to address the latest violence in the Gaza Strip and the continued firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel. In recent weeks, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary briefed his Cabinet colleagues and has regular conversations with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development regarding Gaza and southern Israel.
	In addition, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been in contact with Palestinian President Abbas on 6 March, Israeli Defence Minister Barak on 28 February and 17 April, Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on 27 March, 10 April and 16 April, Egyptian Foreign Minister Gheit on 9 March, US Secretary of State Rice most recently on 2 April, and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 27 March.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have been in regular contact with non-governmental organisations. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has recently written to the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice, and Oxfam. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with the British Overseas Agencies Group which represents ActionAid, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, Christian Aid, Oxfam GB and Save the Children on 14 April. Officials have recently met with Oxfam, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières and Christian Aid.
	We continue to urge all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from the use of force.

Iran: Sanctions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government will be encouraging the European Union to take in light of the agreement on UN Security Council Resolution 1803 on 3 March 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Following UN Security Council resolution 1803, we are pressing for further EU measures in the form of a new Common Position and additional listings of entities and individuals that meet the criteria laid out in the existing Common Positions. A range of proposals are under consideration, including further financial and other measures and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will inform the House when these have been agreed.

Iran: Sanctions

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects additional EU sanctions on Iran to be agreed; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: On the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 1803, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and our officials are working closely with EU partners to design and adopt further EU measures as a matter of urgency. Discussions are continuing in Brussels. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will inform the House of the outcome of those negotiations as soon as he is able to do so.

Iraq: Detainees

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that Iraqi prisoners who are handed over to the Iraqi government by coalition forces are accorded the level of treatment expected under international conventions; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Government concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Iraq on 8 November 2004 entitled "Memorandum of understanding between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland contingent of Multinational Forces-Iraq and the Ministries of Justice and Interior of Iraq regarding criminal suspects".
	This MOU sets out the process by which transfers are to be conducted and also sets out the expectations of the Government in relation to the treatment of individuals transferred. We have previously sought the permission of the Government of Iraq to lay a copy of the MOU before Parliament, but that permission was withheld.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the use of Iranian-made rockets in attacks against Iraqi targets and coalition forces in Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: We consistently monitor the equipment and armaments being used by militias and other insurgents in Iraq. Any support for insurgents through supply of weapons, training or funding contributes to instability in Iraq.
	We welcome the Iraqi government's statements that it will not tolerate any outside interference which undermines the prospects for a secure, stable and democratic Iraq.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had on the Israel-Palestine conflict and its humanitarian implications with the United States administration.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had regular contact with US Secretary of State Rice, most recently on 2 April. We remain gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Essential services, including water and sanitation, are close to breakdown and a number of essential medical items and drugs are out of stock. The UK continues to stress the need for the international community to remain fully engaged on the middle east peace process.

Nuclear Fuels

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2791W, on nuclear fuels, what the UK's objectives are for the 17 to 18 April conference on nuclear fuel cycle arrangements.

Kim Howells: Together with our German and Dutch co-hosts we aim to bring together countries that are considering introducing nuclear energy and countries that have specific experience in nuclear fuel supply to share expertise and best practice. We will listen to states' views on the Multilateral Nuclear Approaches agenda. This will help in developing a viable regime of nuclear fuel assurances under the International Atomic Energy Agency auspices that will support states' rights to the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Tibet: Politics and Government

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on  (a) independence and  (b) greater political autonomy for Tibet.

Meg Munn: holding answer 3 April 2008
	Successive Governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous while recognising the special position of the Chinese authorities there. We have consistently informed the Chinese government of our view that greater autonomy should be granted to the Tibetans. But like all other EU members, we do not advocate Tibetan independence. We have emphasised that the current political difficulties in Tibet can best be resolved through dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has stated publicly that he opposes violence and does not seek independence, but greater autonomy for Tibet. We consider that this provides a basis for a negotiated settlement to the issue of Tibet.

Western Sahara: Human Rights

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet representatives of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to discuss the formal publication of the OHCHR Report on Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) visited the region in 2006 to gather information on the human rights situation. The OHCHR shared its report privately with Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario on 8 September 2006, but did not publish it, and I understand the OHCHR maintains its decision not to make the report public. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no plans to meet with the OHCHR and respects its decision to not publish the report.
	We are keen to see a resolution to the question of Western Sahara. To this end, the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy to the Western Sahara, Peter Van Walsum, to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We support the process of UN-chaired negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario currently under way.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Business: Finance

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much he has allocated to business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) each financial year to 2010-11; and how much of this planned expenditure will be channelled via the regional development agencies' single pot in each such year.

Patrick McFadden: Regarding how much the Department allocated to business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development in 2007-08, I have nothing to add to the answer to the hon. Member on 18 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1288W.
	Regarding the amount of planned expenditure channelled through the Regional Development Agencies' single pot, my Department has allocated £535 million in 2008-09, £523 million in 2009-10 and £512 million in 2010-11 to the single budget.
	The RDA single budget is intended to deliver a range of statutory objectives including regeneration, business support, employment, skills and sustainable development. The RDAs' detailed proposals covering the next three years will be set out in their corporate plans, which will be published in the near future.

Business: Regulation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  what recent steps the Government has taken to minimise the burden of regulation for businesses;
	(2)  what recent steps the Government has taken to assist small businesses in the cost of dealing with regulation.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 5 March 2008
	Government undertook an exercise, supported by industry, to measure the Administrative Burdens that impact businesses of all sizes as a result of complying with regulations. Upon the completion of this exercise, 25 per cent. net targets by 2010 were set to reduce this burden.
	In December 2007, 19 Simplification Plans were published, showing more than 700 measures to reduce the burdens of complying with regulations. Over 280 of these measures have already been delivered saving businesses £800 million per year.
	Examples of include:
	 Simpler law for smaller businesses (BERR):
	Smaller businesses stand to benefit from substantial rewrite of Company Law. Coupled with better guidance, new provisions are expected to lower third party costs and make compliance easier. Conservative estimate of £2 million annual savings delivered.
	 Changes to Small Business Rate Relief (Communities):
	Small firms eligible for Small Business Rate Relief no longer have to register for relief annually. £3 million annual savings delivered, and expected to rise to £11 million by 2010.
	 Small Firms audit requirements (Financial Services Authority):
	Removed the need for 3,400 small firms to have a statutory audit, saving £12.9 million per year.
	Copies of these plans are available online at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/bre/policy/simplifying-existing-regulation/simplification-plans/2007/page44068.html

Centre for Alternative Technology

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will consider providing financial support to the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales.

Gareth Thomas: We recognise the benefits of the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales. The CAT can apply for grants for demonstration of technologies under the existing programmes of the Environmental Transformation Fund where it meets the criteria. However we are not currently in a position to be able to provide additional core support to the Centre.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Gareth Thomas: 34 employees of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, formerly Department of Trade and Industry and its agencies have made an appeal to the Civil Service Appeal Board, in the last 10 years. Two of these cases have been upheld at the Civil Service Appeal Board since 2002. To provide information on compensation awarded at the Civil Service Appeal Board would be at a disproportionate cost, also to give further details of the individual cases may compromise the identity of the individual contravening the Data Protection Act.

Coal Fired Power Stations: Environment Protection

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if his Department will carry out a strategic environmental assessment of energy policy with regard to the environmental impact of new coal-fired power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: We have no such plans. Our use of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has been focussed on technologies where we have the necessary information on where projects would be located. For most onshore power stations it is the market that decides where they are located.

Conference Centres

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether his Department provides any  (a) capital and  (b) revenue support to any conference or exhibition centre; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: My Department has one conference centre based at its HQ building at 1 Victoria street. An external service provider is contracted to manage the centre on the Department's behalf for which they are paid a monthly fee. As part of the BERR estate, the conference centre has a regular maintenance schedule that may involve some capital or revenue expenditure.

Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what timetable his Department plans for the  (a) commencement and  (b) implementation of each of the provisions of the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 yet to be commenced and implemented.

Gareth Thomas: The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 (the Act) contains provisions relating to three distinct policy areas—Consumer Voice, estate agents and contracts concluded away from business premises ("doorstep selling")—which are being commenced and implemented to different timetables:
	1. The new National Consumer Council, Scottish Consumer Council, Welsh Consumer Council, Northern Ireland Postal Services Committee, and new statutory redress schemes for gas, electricity, and postal services consumers, are planned to be operational on 1 October 2008. Work is well under way on the development of these new arrangements. Commencement of the relevant provisions of the Act reflects both the progress and the needs of the implementation programme. The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2007 (SI 2007 No. 3546) brought into force on 21 December 2007 the provisions which enabled the appointments of Chairs and Members to be made formally to the new bodies, and for the new bodies to make an important contribution to the implementation process. That Order also commenced provisions relating to the new redress schemes. The Commencement No. 4 Order (SI 2008 No. 905), which was made on 26 March 2008, commenced with effect from 1 April 2008 the provisions which made the new National Consumer Council responsible for maintaining accounts. The Commencement No. 3 Order has been published in draft, and is subject to approval by a resolution of each House of Parliament. The draft Order seeks to commence the provisions relating to the requirement on the new National Consumer Council to publish and consult upon a forward work programme.
	2. Provisions in the Act that amend the Estate Agents Act 1979 by making provision for redress schemes dealing with complaints about estate agents were brought into force on 8 October 2007 by the Commencement No. l Order (SI 2007 No. 2934). Once the Office of Fair Trading has approved a redress scheme open to all estate agents, an order requiring estate agents to belong to an approved scheme can be made. Subject to OFT approving a scheme, the Government expects this requirement to be in force with effect from 1 October 2008. Provisions in the Act that amend the Estate Agents Act 1979 by expanding the grounds for the issue by the OFT of prohibition and warning orders and increasing the investigatory powers of enforcement officers, were included in the Commencement No. 4 Order and will come into force on 1 October 2008. The Government expects to commence the remaining estate agents provisions on 6 April 2009.
	3. The Government expect to make the new Regulation on "door-step selling" in May and commence the Regulation on 1 October 2008. The Regulation will extend the protections consumers have when a visit is unsolicited (e.g. right of withdrawal and cooling off period) to sales as result of a solicited visit, and require traders to include the notice of the right to cancel within a written contract.

Cosmetics: Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what submissions he has received from manufacturers of cosmetic products on data on animal testing required under Regulation 9(1)(i) of the Cosmetics Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: None. The information required by this Regulation is to be kept by manufacturers and importers and made available to local authority Trading Standards Departments upon request.

Cosmetics: Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department requires manufacturers to take in notifying new cosmetics products under the Cosmetics Products (Safety) Regulations 2004.

Gareth Thomas: Regulation 10 of the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 (as amended) requires UK based cosmetic product manufacturers and importers where the UK is the first place a cosmetic product is placed on the EU market, to notify BERR of the place of manufacture or importation and the type of cosmetic product.

Cosmetics: Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how his Department has implemented  (a) Regulations 5 (7) to 5 (16) of the Cosmetics Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 with particular reference to Regulation 5 (9), and  (b) the EU requirement that member states prohibit the sale of cosmetic ingredients and finished products that have been tested on animals using animal methods which may be replaced by valid alternative tests using fewer or no animals; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Regulation 5(7)-5(16) of the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 (as amended) is the UK's implementation of the 7th Amendment to the European Union's Cosmetics Directive, which principally dealt with animal testing issues. These requirements are enforced by local authority Trading Standards Departments; no central records of their enforcement activity are kept.

Departmental Correspondence

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether it is his policy that Ministers should sign all letters responding to hon. Members' correspondence; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's advice and guidance to staff on dealing with Members' correspondence.

Gareth Thomas: All letters in response to hon. Members' correspondence are approved by BERR Ministers. Electronic signatures and letters from private secretaries are sometimes used to accelerate responses to hon. Members.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Gareth Thomas: The current Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and his predecessor visited, as part of their official engagements:
	the Manchester Central for a ministerial road show on 18 October 2007;
	the Excel Conference Centre, Docklands for the UK Motor Show on 18 July 2006 and for the Boat Show Exhibition on 11 January 2007;
	The QEII Conference Centre for the Chancellor's Advancing Enterprise Conference on 23 January 2005, to make a speech at the CBI Diversity Conference on 14 March 2005, for a Stakeholders Event and Reception on 20 June 2005, to launch the Energy Review on 23 January 2006, for the Annual Conference of the British Chambers of Commerce on 4 April 2006, for a speech to the Russian Economic Forum on 25 April, for the British Chambers of Commerce Annual Conference on 16 April 2007, and for a speech to the Russian Economic Forum on 24 April 2007.

Departmental Information and Communications Technology

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 27 March 2008,  Official Report, column 328W, on departmental ICT, how many missing or stolen  (a) laptops,  (b) mobile telephones and  (c) personal digital assistants have been replaced by his Department; and at what cost.

Gareth Thomas: All those items which were departmental property will have been replaced. The estimated replacement costs of laptops and PDAs for each year since 2001 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Replacement costs 
			  £ 
			   Laptops  PDAs 
			 2007 3,600 — 
			 2006 4,500 270 
			 2005 10,000 900 
			 2004 10,800 300 
			 2003 22,000 300 
			 2002 30,000 1,200 
			 2001 10,500 — 
		
	
	Mobile phones would have been replaced as routine upgrades at no additional cost to the Department.

Departmental Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pension in each of the last two years.

Gareth Thomas: 100 members of staff in the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2.85) per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2007. This has decreased to 94 members of staff (2.96 per cent. of total number of staff employed by the department) who were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2008.

Departmental Publications

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance is issued to members of his Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Civil Service Code, the Civil Service Management Code and Propriety Guidance on Government Communications, all provide guidance to staff on the publication of material relating to their official duties. Copies of each of these are in the libraries of the House. They are also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Gareth Thomas: The Department has published its sustainable development action plan for 2006-07 and is in the process of producing its action plan for 2007-08.

Discrimination

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many claims for discrimination based on  (a) sex,  (b) race and  (c) sexual orientation were brought by members of his Department and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Employment Tribunal cases 2003-07 
			   Settled at ET  Settled outside ET 
			   Sex  Race  Sexual orientation  Sex  Race  Sexual orientation 
			 2003 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2004 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 2005 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2006 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2007 0 0 0 0 0 0

Hearing Impaired

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by his Department through call centres.

Gareth Thomas: The Department provides access to its services for deaf people via a minicom number in its Central Enquiry Unit.
	The Arbitration and Conciliation Service (ACAS) and Companies House, who are Executive Agencies of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, also provide access via minicom numbers.

JP Morgan

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its predecessors paid to JP Morgan in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of the payment was in each case.

Gareth Thomas: Central records indicate that no contracts have been awarded by the Department and its predecessors to JP Morgan since 1997.

Karian and Box

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the value was of each contract awarded by his Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997.

Gareth Thomas: Our central records indicate that no contracts have been awarded by the Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997.

Minimum Wage

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people were recorded to be receiving less than the minimum wage in each year since its introduction.

Patrick McFadden: Estimates of employee jobs paid below the national minimum wage are produced by the Office for National Statistics. These estimates are presented in the following table.
	These figures do not provide an accurate estimate of the extent of non-compliance with the national minimum wage. There are a number of circumstances in which an individual may legitimately be paid less than the national minimum wage, for example apprentices and those provided with accommodation as part of their jobs.
	
		
			  Number of employee jobs (and percentage of UK employees jobs) paid below the national minimum wage in the UK 
			   Thousand  Percentage 
			 1999 490 2.1 
			 2000 230 1.0 
			 2001 240 1.0 
			 2002 340 1.4 
			 2003 250 1.0 
			 2004 276 1.1 
			 2005 308 1.2 
			 2006 296 1.2 
			 2007 292 1.2 
			  Notes: 1. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.00 per hour (aged 18-21) or £3.60 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 1998 to 2000. 2. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.20 per hour (aged 18-21) or £3.70 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2001. 3. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.50 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.10 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2002. 4. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.60 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.20 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2003. 5. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.80 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.50 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2004. 6. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.00 per hour (aged 16-17) or £4.10 per hour (aged 18-21) or £4.85 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2005. 7. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.00 per hour (aged 16-17) or £4.25 per hour (aged 18-21) or £5.05 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2006. 8. Number of jobs paid at less than £3.30 per hour (aged 16-17) or £4.45 per hour (aged 18-21) or £5.35 per hour (aged 22 and over) for 2007. 9. Before 2005 the estimates are for employees aged 18 and over, from 2005 the estimates are for those aged 16 and over 10. The following link is for the ONS web page containing the aforementioned information. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/lpay1107.pdf

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Morgan Stanley in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of each such payment was.

Gareth Thomas: Central records indicate that the Department and its predecessors have paid the following to Morgan Stanley since 1997:
	
		
			   Amount (£)  Purpose 
			 2006 112,602 Advice to the Energy Review

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Certification Officer has issued on those ineligible to donate to UK political parties or to contribute to political parties via trade union funds.

Patrick McFadden: Neither the Department nor the Certification Officer has produced guidance on those ineligible to donate to UK political parties or to contribute to political parties via trade union funds.

Political Parties: Finance

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Certification Officer has issued on the use of paid leave for trade union duties being used for political campaigning and related activities.

Patrick McFadden: Neither the Department nor the Certification Officer has produced specific guidance on this issue. The Certification Officer has no statutory duties regarding paid time off for trade union duties.

Post Offices: Closures

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will take steps to ensure that Post Office Ltd. does not prevent sub-postmasters, whose post offices are threatened with closure, from consulting their Member of Parliament.

Patrick McFadden: I understand that Post Office Ltd. only asks sub-postmasters to maintain confidentiality about the proposed closure of their own or neighbouring offices to avoid speculation which could be commercially damaging to the offices concerned until the relevant area plan closure proposals have been finalised for public consultation.
	Once proposals have been finalised for public consultation there is nothing to stop sub-postmasters discussing their views on the network change programme with their MP.

Regional Development Agencies: Expenditure

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much Government funding has been spent in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency by the regional development agency in the last three years.

Patrick McFadden: The NWDA expenditure in Morecambe and Lunesdale for the past three years is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2004-05 623,253 
			 2005-06 1,226,491 
			 2006-07 2,344,192 
		
	
	Please note that the above information does not include projects that fall within more than one parliamentary constituency.

Small Businesses: Bureaucracy

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to reduce the burden of regulation for small and medium-sized businesses in West Lancashire constituency.

Patrick McFadden: Government undertook an exercise, supported by industry, to measure the administrative burdens that impact businesses of all sizes as a result of complying with regulations. Upon the completion of this exercise, 25 per cent. net targets by 2010 were set to reduce this burden.
	In December 2007, 19 simplification plans were published, showing more than 700 measures to reduce the burdens of complying with regulations. Over 280 of these measures have already been delivered saving businesses £800 million per year.
	Examples include:
	 Simpler law for smaller businesses (BERR):
	Smaller businesses stand to benefit from substantial rewrite of company law. Coupled with better guidance, new provisions are expected to lower third party costs and make compliance easier. Conservative estimate of £2 million annual savings delivered.
	 Changes to Small Business Rate Relief (Communities):
	Small firms eligible for small business rate relief no longer have to register for relief annually. £3 million annual savings delivered, and expected to rise to £11 million by 2010.
	 Small Firms audit requirements (Financial Services Authority):
	Removed the need for 3, 400 small firms to have a statutory audit, saving £12.9 million per year. Copies of these plans are available online at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/bre/policy/simplifying-existing-regulation/simplification- plans/2007/page44068.html

Telephone Contact Centres

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when he will answer  (a) question 173134, tabled on 6 December 2007 and  (b) Question 175767, on telephone contact centres, tabled on 17 December 2007 by the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne.

Gareth Thomas: I replied to both questions from the hon. Member on 18 March 2008,  Official Report, column 983W and column 99W.

Trade Unions

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what plans he has to amend the regulatory regime to permit the use of remote electronic voting in trade union ballots.

Patrick McFadden: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has requested the Government to use the order-making power in Section 54 of the Employment Relations Act 2004 to permit the use of electronic balloting in statutory ballots under trade union law. The Department is currently examining the TUC's proposal. We would not bring forward legislation in this area without first undertaking a full public consultation.

Trade Unions: Fees and Charges

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will instruct  (a) his Department and  (b) the Certification Officer to raise public awareness of the right of trade union members to opt out of the trade union political levy in trade unions which have political funds.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform raises awareness of the right to opt out of a trade union political fund via a publication entitled 'Trade union political funds: a guide for trade unions, their members and others' which is freely available on the Departments website.
	The Certification Officer is an independent office holder appointed by the Secretary of State to carry out specific statutory functions which are set out in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 Act. The Secretary of State does not instruct the Certification Officer in the performance of his functions.

Trade Unions: Fees and Charges

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance  (a) his Department and  (b) the Certification Officer has issued on the application of cooling-off periods to the sale of trade union membership.

Patrick McFadden: Neither the Department nor the Certification Officer has produced guidance on the application of cooling-off periods when people become trade union members.

UBS

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect on suitability of UBS AG to continue work for his Department on the financial and commercial aspects of new nuclear build of that Bank's announcement of its Chairman's resignation.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is content that this issue does not impact upon the ability or suitability of UBS to undertake this work for Government. However, as with all such contracts, the Department will continue to assess the suitability and performance of its advisers on an ongoing basis.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the merits of proposals to raise the legal age for buying alcohol from 18 to 21 years.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are not considering raising the legal age for buying alcohol from 18 to 21 years.

Care Homes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps the Government plans to take to improve the treatment of older people in care homes;
	(2)  what steps the Government have taken to improve the investigation process when elder abuse has been reported in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: hol d ing answer 21 April 2008
	On 14 June 2007, I announced two important measures to help improve the safeguarding of vulnerable adults. This followed the publication of the "UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People: Prevalence Survey Report", by Kings College London and the National Centre for Social Research. The Department contributed £250,000 towards this research, which was jointly commissioned with Comic Relief.
	Plans are now being put in place to introduce a new national monitoring system to report the extent of abuse, so that each individual council can monitor abuse locally and act on it. This will be based on a standardised method for the collection of data on protection of vulnerable adult referrals in England, offering new understanding about the size of the challenge we face and allowing comparisons between councils.
	No Secrets, the existing statutory guidance on safeguarding vulnerable adults, which was issued in 2000, provides for health, social services and the police, to work together to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. Seven years on, and in the light of experience and knowledge gained, we are now working to review this guidance and to consult with the public and other Government Departments that have an interest in this field. We will also consider the case for legislation as part of the review process. A copy of the "No Secrets", guidance is available in the Library.
	On 27 March this year, I announced the launch of a further major research project, which is also to be co-funded by the Department and Comic Relief. The new study, entitled "Abuse, Neglect and Loss of Dignity in the Institutional Care of Older People", will examine the experience of older people—and those caring for them—in institutional settings, such as care homes and national health service wards, and will focus more broadly on issues of loss of dignity as well as abuse or mistreatment. The tender process for this work will start shortly.
	Total funding of the new research initiative, which will comprise a series of linked studies over a three year period, will be £2 million.

Care Homes: Inspectors

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average period of employment for a Commission for Social Care Inspection inspector was at the most recent date for which information is available;
	(2)  how many  (a) inspectors and  (b) full-time equivalent inspectors work for the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

Ivan Lewis: We have been informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that, as at 26 March 2008, the average period of employment of an inspector was 5.34 years. CSCI does not have information on the dates inspectors began work from the period prior to the establishment of its predecessor organisation, the National Care Standards Commission, on 1 April 2002.
	As at 26 March 2008, the number of CSCI regulatory inspectors were:
	Headcount: 869; and
	Full-time equivalent: 825.25.

Chlamydia: Information Services

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways his Department is increasing  (a) public and  (b) professional awareness of the risks of Chlamydia infection.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Chlamydia Screening Programme for England aims to control Chlamydia through early detection and treatment of asymptomatic infection. One of the key aims of the programme is raise awareness of Chlamydia and its effects among the public and health professionals alike. In addition, the Department's 'Condom Essential Wear' campaign includes messages and information regarding a wide range of sexually transmitted infections including Chlamydia to an audience of sexually active 18 to 34-year-olds alongside its key condom normalisation message.

Chlamydia: Screening

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 March 2008,  Official Report, column 259W, on Chlamydia screening, 
	(1)  what steps his Department plans to take against those areas that fail to meet their targets for screening 15 per cent. of their 15 to 24 population in 2007-08;
	(2)  on what dates officials in his Department discussed Chlamydia screening in the last six months with strategic health authorities; what the content of the discussions was with each strategic health authority; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the performance management routes described in the Answer; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Officials within the Department have discussed Chlamydia screening with strategic health authorities (SHAs) in both formal and informal settings on a number of occasions within the last six months. The following table shows the dates when officials met with SHAs and at most of these meetings Chlamydia was discussed. The content of the discussions focused on the performance of SHAs in relation to Chlamydia screening.
	
		
			  Month  Dates 
			  2007  
			 October 2, 10, 16, 17, 19, 23, 26 
			 November 2, 6, 14, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29 
			 December 3, 11, 12, 19, 20 
			   
			  2008  
			 January 10, 11, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25 
			 February 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 26, 29 
			 March 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 27 
		
	
	Performance on Chlamydia screening is one of the indicators used to inform primary care trusts rating through the Healthcare Commission Annual Health Check in 2007-08. Reducing Chlamydia prevalence has been identified as a national priority target for local delivery in the national planning guidance for the national health service in the 'NHS Operational Plans 2008-09 to 2010-11', which highlights the Government's continuing commitment to tackling this infection. A copy of the guidance is available in the Library. We will continue to work through performance management routes to support delivery of this target and increase screening volumes.

Chlamydia: Screening

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2853-54W, on Chlamydia screening, which areas the National Support Team for Sexual Health is supporting to help meet the 15 per cent. screening target; what support is being given by the National Support Team for Sexual Health to those areas finding it most challenging to meet their targets; and what central funding has been given to the National Support Team for Sexual Health in each year since its inception.

Dawn Primarolo: The sexual health national support team (SH-NST) was set up in February 2006 to support local areas to deliver against the 48 hour genito-urinary medicine access target. Since inception the national support team has undertaken 62 visits and provided associated ongoing support to local areas across England. The total staffing and visit costs of the team to date is £1.2 million.
	In 2008-09, the SH-NST will be shifting its focus to providing support on the Chlamydia screening indicator. It will work closely with the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) to increase screening volumes, working jointly with strategic health authorities to identify those areas facing the greatest challenge and supporting and monitoring the NCSP to ensure rapid progress to target.

Departmental Grants

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has awarded in section 64 grants to the charitable and public sectors since 1978.

Ivan Lewis: The total amount awarded under the Section 64 General Scheme of Grants to third sector organisations (including charities and other not for profit organisations) from 1996 is given in the following table. Information on amounts awarded prior to 1996 is not available. Public sector organisations are not eligible for grants under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1996-97 21.0 
			 1997-98 21.4 
			 1998-99 20.6 
			 1999-2000 22.3 
			 2000-01 22.7 
			 2001-02 21.5 
			 2002-03 22.1 
			 2003-04 21.4 
			 2004-05 (1)17.8 
			 2005-06 (1)17.9 
			 2006-07 (1)17.2 
			 2007-08 (1)17.2 
			 2008-09 (1)17.7 
			 (1) In 2004-05 £4.2 million was transferred to the Department for Education and Skills for projects relating to children's social care policy following reorganisation of departmental responsibilities for children's social services. Following the transfer the Department for Children, Schools and Families Section 64 grant scheme was renamed Safeguarding Children and Supporting Families Grants.

Departmental Procurement

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on rationalisation of his Department's processes for the procurement of goods and services in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: Over the last year the Department has rationalised its supplier base, cleansed its purchase order system and conducted an exercise to populate a new contracts database.
	The Department has also set up a procurement centre of expertise to make sure that good procurement practice is followed by influencing all its non-pay expenditure on goods and services.
	The Department is also developing a new finance, human resources and purchasing system to standardise its business processes.

Eating Disorders

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to hospital for eating disorders in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) region,  (b) sex and  (c) those aged (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 18 and (iii) over 18 years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Health Innovation Council

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Health Innovation Council first met; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) agenda,  (b) remit and  (c) minutes.

Dawn Primarolo: The Health Innovation Council first met on 27 November 2007. The role of the council is to provide strategic advice on how to further develop innovation in health and social care. Copies of the terms of reference, agendas and agreed notes of meetings have been placed in the Library and are also available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Commissioning/Worldclasscommissioning/DH_083661

Health Services: Prisons

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of each notifiable disease were diagnosed in each of Her Majesty's Prisons in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected. Disease surveillance is the responsibility of the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Prisons are not currently specifically identified in HPA surveillance systems.

JP Morgan

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department paid to JP Morgan in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of each payment was.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department's financial records only go back to April 2001 and they show that no payments have been made to JP Morgan for the period April 2001 to March 2008.

Macular Degeneration: Drugs

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects Avastin to be available on NHS prescription for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration.

Dawn Primarolo: Avastin is not currently licensed for the treatment of wet-age related macular degeneration. A clinician may prescribe a drug outside its licensed indications (off licence or off label), provided their local primary care trust agree to supply it at national health service expense.

Medical Records: Disclosure of Information

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patients will be able to opt out of having  (a) their detailed patient information,  (b) their basic patient information including prescription and allergy details and  (c) their demographic information, including name, date of birth, address and NHS number uploaded to Spine or placed on their summary care record.

Ben Bradshaw: Patients are able to opt out of having both their basic clinical information, including medication and allergy details, and their detailed clinical information, uploaded to the 'spine', the national database of key information about patients' health and care within the care records service (NHS CRS), by choosing not to have a summary care record.
	Patients are not able to prevent their basic demographic and contact details from being held within the NHS CRS. The NHS has maintained registers of its service users from the earliest days of its existence to support the delivery of health care. A record is also kept of which general practice each patient is registered with, and reasons of efficiency and probity require this to be held centrally, for example to prevent multiple GPs from being paid for the same patient, and to ensure that the correct commissioning body meets the cost of care provided. A register is also needed to enable the Secretary of State to meet the obligation to provide health care, free at the point of contact, for those patients who are ordinarily resident in England.
	While for these reasons it is not practicable to give patients choice about whether their demographic details will be held in the system, safeguards have been built into the NHS CRS personal demographics service (PDS) which allow an individual's contact details to be hidden from NHS staff if patients request this level of protection.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many 16 and 17-year-olds were treated by adult mental health services  (a) at the most recent date and  (b) in each year for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested. However, the number of bed days on adult psychiatric wards of patients aged 16 or 17 was 29,306 in 2005-06 and 19,988 in 2006-07. These are the only years for which we have information available. The statistical basis for collecting this information changed between the two years and the figures are not directly comparable. Guidance was issued in 2005-06 to address anomalies of reporting of bed days for patients passing their 16th or 18th birthdays while in hospital.
	The Mental Health Act 2007 contains a provision (section 31) that ensures that patients aged under 18 are treated in an environment in hospital, which is suitable having regard to their age (subject to their needs). The Government have made a commitment to commence this provision in England by April 2010. We provided capital funding of £31 million in 2007-08 for 17 projects specifically designed to help eliminate the inappropriate use of adult psychiatric wards for children and young people.

Mentally Ill

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how the NHS measures the capability of patients with a history of violent behaviour induced by mental illness to be reintegrated into society;
	(2)  what provisions the NHS has in place for the reintegration of patients with a history of mental illness and violence back into society; what factors are taken into account before reintegration takes place; and what budget was allocated to such reintegration policies in each of the last 10 years.

Ivan Lewis: Safety for the individual service user, their families, staff and the general public is central to all good healthcare. This is particularly important in mental health services. Risk assessment and risk management are central to planning safe and effective care for individuals who may be a risk to themselves or others. Effective discharge planning from inpatient care and rehabilitation in the community rely on appropriate clinical risk assessment and risk management. As an integral part of clinical care this is not something that is costed separately and therefore we do not have the information requested held centrally.
	To help manage people effectively and safely in the community we introduced community treatment orders in the Mental Health Act 2007. While it is not possible to say that they will prevent all episodes of violence, they will usefully be employed in the treatment of individuals with a history of non-compliance in the community, potentially reducing the risks they pose to themselves or others.
	The Department has also recently published Best practice in managing risk: principles and guidance for best practice in the assessment and management of risk to self and others in mental health services. It underpins risk assessment with principles of good practice for all mental health settings and provides a list of tools offering structure to risk management.
	The Department has also published its review of the care programme approach (CPA), including how risk assessment and management is incorporated into CPA systems. CPA is the system of assessment, planning and a review of care for people receiving secondary mental health services.

Mentally Ill

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many hospital admissions related to episodes of psychosis there were in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many hospital admissions related to episodes of schizophrenia there were in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the following tables.
	Table 1 shows finished admission episodes (FAEs) with primary or secondary diagnosis of schizophrenia.
	Table 2 shows FAEs with primary or secondary diagnosis of psychosis.
	Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	
		
			  Table 1: Counts of FAEs for selected primary diagnoses and primary and secondary diagnoses of *schizophrenia—national health service hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS 
			   Primary diagnoses of *schizophrenia( 1)  Primary and secondary diagnoses of *schizophrenia( 2) 
			 1995-96 25,065 33,267 
			 1996-97 25,224 34,267 
			 1997-98 24,627 34,525 
			 1998-99 27,211 37,858 
			 1999-2000 26,091 37,231 
			 2000-01 25,540 37,072 
			 2001-02 26,035 37,873 
			 2002-03 26,267 39,808 
			 2003-04 25,543 40,763 
			 2004-05 26,570 44,279 
			 2005-06 24,571 45,054 
			 2006-07 23,041 45,955 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Counts of finished admission episodes for selected primary diagnoses and primary and secondary diagnoses of *psychosis—NHS hospitals England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS 
			   Primary diagnoses of psychosis( 1)  Primary and secondary diagnoses of psychosis( 2) 
			 1995-96 84,813 141,031 
			 1996-97 83,908 142,805 
			 1997-98 81,186 142,131 
			 1998-99 85,622 151,247 
			 1999-2000 82,135 152,387 
			 2000-01 78,195 150,943 
			 2001-02 78,791 157,587 
			 2002-03 80,444 170,149 
			 2003-04 76,615 176,776 
			 2004-05 77,497 192,526 
			 2005-06 72,014 201,446 
			 2006-07 67,004 213,624 
			 (1) Primary diagnoses of *schizophrenia: These figures represent a count of FAEs where the selected diagnosis codes for schizophrenia was mentioned in the primary diagnosis field. (2) Primary and secondary diagnoses of *schizophrenia: These figures represent a count of FAEs where the selected diagnosis codes for schizophrenia was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record. A record is counted only once if any of these codes recorded more than once in diagnoses fields.  Notes: 1. FAEs: A FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  3.Secondary diagnoses As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in (HES) that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care

Mentally Ill: Children

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England and Wales have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

Ivan Lewis: We do not routinely collect this information. However, a 2004 survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 9.6 per cent. of children in Great Britain aged between five and 16 suffered from some kind of mental disorder. The survey was based on interviews with a sample of parents and children. The full results are published in the ONS report Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, a copy of this publication has been placed in the Library.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research into the treatment of  (a) myofascial pain syndrome and  (b) fibromyalgia; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The usual practice of the Department's National Institute for Health Research and of the Medical Research Council is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. Research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Both organisations welcome applications for support into any aspect of human health and these are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of evidence on a potential link between the use of hydrocortisone injections and  (a) myofascial pain syndrome and  (b) fibromyalgia; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Hydrocortisone is a synthetic anti-inflammatory steroid which is licensed for use in replacement therapy in adrenocortical insufficiency and a range of anti-inflammatory conditions. Hydrocortisone injections are not licensed for the treatment of fibromyalgia or myofascial pain syndrome, but may sometimes be used for the temporary symptomatic relief of pain associated with fibromyalgia when a prescriber judges that such unlicensed use is in the patient's best interest.
	The use of hydrocortisone is associated with a number of adverse effects which are listed in the Summary of Product Characteristics and Patient Information Leaflet, fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome are not recognised side-effects of treatment. As with all medicines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continuously monitors the safety of hydrocortisone and has not received any reports of fibromyalgia or myofascial pain syndrome in patients treated with hydrocortisone.

NHS Organisations

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a list of NHS organisations in England, broken down by local authority area.

Ben Bradshaw: A list of all strategic health authorities, special health authorities, national health service trusts, NHS foundation trusts and primary care trusts as at 18 April 2008, broken down by region, has been placed in the Library. Information about corresponding local authority area is not held centrally.

NHS: Alarms

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance his Department has issued to NHS organisations on the use of carbon monoxide alarms;
	(2)  how many hospitals had audible carbon monoxide alarms fitted at the most recent date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is committed to help prevent deaths and injuries caused by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and the focus of the initiatives it has taken has been on raising awareness of the dangers of CO poisoning among the public and medical profession. It has not issued specific guidance to the national health service about the use of CO alarms.
	In his winter update issued in November 2007, which is sent to all doctors registered with the General Medical Council in England, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) provides a range of advice on diagnosis of CO poisoning, including the use of neurological examination.
	This builds on two previous publications, the advice of which is still current: "CMO Winter 2005 Update"; and the CMO and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) joint letter issued in 2002. CMO's update includes recognition of the symptoms of CO poisoning, key questions to ask in diagnosis, appropriate tests and treatment. The CMO/CNO letter, distributed to community nurses, midwives, health visitors and general practitioners, provides detailed advice for recognising the symptoms of CO poisoning and specific advice about investigations and testing techniques. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
	In addition, the Department has recently called for research to investigate the incidence of CO poisoning, health outcomes and patient's experience following exposure, which will help inform the development of appropriate policy.
	The Department also provides funding to leading national voluntary organisations through the Section 64 General Scheme of Grants, which helps in their work in raising awareness about the dangers of CO with both the public and health professionals and in supporting victims and providing information on how to prevent poisoning.
	In collaboration with key stakeholders, the Department is currently looking at options for new awareness-raising initiatives as well as reviewing activities in which it is already engaged.
	Information on the number of hospitals fitted with audible carbon monoxide alarms is not collected centrally.

NHS: Belgium

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to the running of the NHS office in Brussels in each of the last three years.

Dawn Primarolo: The NHS European office was established in September 2007 and therefore no funding and expenditure was allocated prior to this date. The NHS European office is jointly funded by the strategic health authorities and financial information for the office will be published in the accounts of South-East Coast Strategic Health Authority, for part of the financial year 2007-08 which the office was operational.

NHS: Drugs

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 23-4W, on NHS: drugs, 
	(1)  what the basis was of his calculation of the target reduction in Category M medicines expenditure as specified in the answer;
	(2)  what proportion of the reimbursement prices paid to pharmacy contractors he estimates to be represented by the profit margin of pharmacy contractors;
	(3)  to what he ascribes the increase in Category M cost of reimbursement, expressed at March 2005 prices, between financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Dawn Primarolo: The basis of the target reductions was provided in the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 25 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 23-4W.
	In addition, adjustments are also made to reimbursement prices to take account of the reduction in market prices that usually occurs in the months after the introduction of a generic medicine following patent expiry of an in-patent medicine.
	In the period 1 April 2005 to 30 September 2007 the target reduction for the adjustment in category M medicines expenditure was £1.05 billion by reference to March 2005 prices. To include medicines joining category M since April 2005, the planned, further reduction of £100 million per quarter from 1 October 2007 was implemented by reference to July 2007 prices.
	£500 million of the annual level of funding agreed by the Department and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee is derived from profits made by pharmacies buying medicines for less than they are reimbursed by the national health service (the retained purchase margin).
	The increase of the Category M cost of reimbursement is attributable to the increased growth in the volume of the cost of NHS generic medicines reimbursed in England since the introduction of the Category M system. However, although the cost of Category M generic medicines prescribed and dispensed has increased (22 per cent.) that growth would have been greater (27 per cent.) if Category M had not been introduced. The breakdown is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Increased cost of the Category M reimbursement for NHS generic medicines reimbursed in England 
			   At March 2005 prices (£)  Actual cost (£) 
			 2005-06 1,412,149,436 1,087,738,827 
			 2006-07 1,797,838,505 1,326,817,414 
			 Increase between 2005-06 and 2006-07 385,689,069 239,078,587 
			
			 Percentage increase 27 22

NHS: Identity Cards

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the Answer of 29 June 2005,  Official Report, column 1608W on identity cards, to the hon. and learned Member for Harborough, what the conclusions were of his Department's consideration of the costs and benefits of using identity cards within the National Health Service, including the cost of card readers, with particular reference to the NHS Connecting for Health National Programme for IT;
	(2)  what stage has been reached in the development of the proposed NHS card referred to in section 2.21 of the NHS Improvement Plan, published on 24 June 2004;
	(3)  with reference to the Answer of 27 February 2006,  Official Report, column 439W, on the European Health Insurance Card, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on links between  (a) an NHS card and  (b) Connecting for Health, and the identity cards programme.

Ben Bradshaw: It is too early in the process to make any conclusions of the costs and benefits of using identity cards within the national health service.
	There are no current plans to introduce an NHS card, although this will be kept under review.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State meets the Home Secretary and other ministerial colleagues to discuss matters of common interest, including on occasion the National Identity Scheme.

Schizophrenia

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of changes in the incidence of schizophrenia in 15 to 25 year olds in the last 30 years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the evidence linking cannabis use and the onset of schizophrenia in the 15 to 25 year age group;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the changes in incidence of psychosis in 15 to 25 year olds in the last 30 years.

Ivan Lewis: It is difficult to assess the trends in incidence of psychosis or schizophrenia for this age group over the last thirty years due to the relatively small numbers of people suffering from these conditions. This makes any assessment of statistical significance of a change vulnerable to error. Also during this time diagnosis classifications have changed for these conditions, which could mean that comparisons over this period would not be measuring like for like.
	The Department is concerned about the negative impact of cannabis use and intoxication on acute mental health patients and on mental health services, and about the increased evidence for a possible role for cannabis in the causation of longer-term disorders such as schizophrenia.
	The Department advises that cannabis use is harmful for people with existing mental health problems, being linked with relapse and resistance to treatments.
	Research data also indicate that the impact of cannabis is likely to be on those already vulnerable to onset of schizophrenia.
	It is also recognised that cannabis can cause an acute, short lived psychosis, from which the person recovers quickly following cessation of cannabis use but which, in severe cases, may require a short period of inpatient care. We keep the evidence and research in this area under constant review.

Self-Mutilation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of self harm were diagnosed in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) region,  (b) sex and  (c) those aged (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 18 and (iii) over 18 years.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available has been placed in the Library. The Department has supplied the number of finished admissions where the external cause code of admission to hospital was self harm.
	Many cases of self harm may be diagnosed in a primary care setting rather than in hospital (apart from serious cases where hospital/medical care is required). We do not know what proportion of people diagnosed are actually treated in hospital so can only give the number of admissions. This is not a count of people who are admitted to hospital as one person could be admitted several times.

Smoking

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has allocated to  (a) Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) and its predecessor PCTs and  (b) PCTs with a similar smoking prevalence for smoking cessation in each of the last five years; and what the average smoking cessation budget was for PCTs in England in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The total revenue allocations made to Eastern and Coastal Kent primary care trust (PCT) for the period 2003-04 to 2008-09 are provided in the following table. These include allocations for national health service stop smoking services (SSS).
	
		
			  £000 
			   Allocation 
			  PCT name  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 643,780 704,384 769,650 917,451 1,013,331 1,068,679 
			  Note: Comparisons cannot be made between allocations rounds for the following reasons: organisational changes and changes are made to the weighted capitation formula for each allocations round, therefore, comparisons would not be on a like with like basis; and the first year that primary medical services were incorporated into revenue allocations was 2006-07. 
		
	
	The information requested on revenue allocations to PCTs with a similar smoking prevalence is not available in the exact format requested.
	Data on NHS SSS PCT allocation are not collected or held centrally.
	Aggregated data on total allocation to NHS SSS for strategic health authorities (SHAs) are collected and held centrally as part of the NHS stop smoking services quarterly monitoring return forms. Data for 2006-07 can be found in table 1.
	Data on smoking prevalence by PCT are not available. The General Household Survey provides estimates of smoking prevalence for adults by Government office region. This information is presented in table 2 for 2002 to 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: NHS stop smoking services allocation by strategic health authority, 2006-07, England 
			   £000 
			  England 56,690 
			   
			  North East Government Office Region 3,249 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 1,478 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 1,770 
			   
			  North West Government Office Region 9,420 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 3,627 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 2,289 
			 Greater Manchester 3,504 
			   
			  Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region 5,717 
			 North and East Yorkshire, Northern Lincolnshire 1,656 
			 South Yorkshire 1,693 
			 West Yorkshire 2,369 
			   
			  East Midlands Government Office Region 4,944 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 1,569 
			 Trent 3,375 
			   
			  West Midlands Government Office Region 7,473 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 4,008 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 1,703 
			 West Midlands South 1,762 
			   
			  East of England Government Office Region 4,493 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1,414 
			 Essex 1,301 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 1,777 
			   
			  London Government Office Region 9,228 
			 North Central London 2,055 
			 North East London 1,879 
			 North West London 2,064 
			 South East London 1,877 
			 South West London 1,352 
			   
			  South East Government Office Region 7,616 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1,483 
			 Kent and Medway 1,186 
			 Surrey and Sussex 3,033 
			 Thames Valley 1,913 
			   
			  South West Government Office Region 4,551 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2,007 
			 Dorset and Somerset 1,036 
			 South West Peninsula 1,508 
			  Source: The NHS Information Centre. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults( 1) , by Government office region, 2002 - 06, England 
			   Weighted (Percentage)  Thousand 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005( 2)  2006  Weighted bases 2006  Unweighted sample 2006 
			  England 26 25 25 24 22 36,613 14,292 
			 
			 North East 27 28 29 29 25 1,719 677 
			 North West 28 30 28 24 25 4,885 2,011 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 27 25 28 25 23 3,791 1,544 
			 East Midlands 24 27 27 25 20 3,444 1,426 
			 West Midlands 23 25 23 22 22 3,668 1,446 
			 East of England 25 25 24 23 19 4,170 1,686 
			 London 24 24 22 22 21 4,897 1,460 
			 South East 26 24 22 22 20 6,093 2,415 
			 South West 25 24 23 25 23 3,946 1,627 
			 (1) Aged 16 and over. (2) 2005 data include last quarter of 2004-05 data due to survey change from financial year to calendar year.  Source: General Household Survey 2006. Office for National Statistics.

Westminster Primary Care Trust: General Practitioners

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 883W, on Westminster Primary Care Trust: general practitioners, what the  (a) names and  (b) locations are of the GP practices with closed lists within the Westminster Primary Care Trust; how many patients each has; what the cost of each practice to the NHS was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 21 April 2008
	The Primary Care Access Survey data for November 2007 to January 2008 show that the two general practitioner (GP) practices within Westminster Primary Care Trust (PCT) reported as having closed lists have list sizes of 2,942 patients and 3,704 patients. However, the data do not identify the names and locations of the practices. In addition, information about the cost of each practice to the national health service is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise these issues with the chief executive of Westminster PCT.
	Under the contractual arrangements for primary medical services, GP practice lists are classed as either 'open' or 'closed'. PCTs will grant a GP practice closed list status only once both parties have made reasonable endeavours to keep the list open and the conclusion is reached that this is not possible.
	The Department is currently exploring, as part of the NHS Next Stage Review being undertaken by the Under-Secretary of State Lord Darzi, whether further action is needed to ensure patients have more choice in the practice with which they register.

Zurich Financial Services

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department paid to Zurich Financial Services in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of the payment was in each case.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department's financial records only go back to April 2001 and they show that no payments have been made to Zurich Financial Services for the period April 2001 to March 2008.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of  (a) employed,  (b) self-employed and  (c) unemployed parents with care not claiming income support or jobseeker's allowance received maintenance in each region in each quarter since January 1997.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 22 April 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of (a) employed, (b) self-employed and (c) unemployed parents with care not claiming income support or jobseeker's allowance received maintenance in each region in each quarter since January 1997.
	The Agency does not record the employment status of parents with care as it is not relevant to the maintenance assessment, therefore the information you have requested is not available.
	I am sorry I cannot be more helpful.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Anne McGuire: The following table provides the information requested.
	
		
			   Conference Centres  Even t /N umber of  visit s  made  Date 
			  (a) Harrogate International Centre No visit made — 
			  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham No visit made — 
			  (c) Manchester Central No visit made — 
			  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow Glasgow Social Inclusion Round Table - Closing Speech 18 October 2005 
			  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre No visit made — 
			  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre No visit made — 
			  (g) The Brighton Centre, Brighton No visit made — 
			  (h) The Riviera Centre, Torquay No visit made — 
			  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London Future Services Network - Summit - Speech 26 June 2007 
			   21 Century Public Services - Putting People First -Speech 6 June 2006 
			   Remploy Event - Speech 14 June 2005 
			   ABI (Association of British Insurers) Conference -Speech 9 March 2005 
			  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands NAPF (National Association of Pension Funds) Annual Conference - Speech 8 June 2006 
			   Pensions Commissions event - Speech 21 June 2005 
			  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London No visit made

Employment: Vacancies

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unfilled job vacancies there were  (a) nationally and  (b) at York Jobcentre on (i) the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) in the same month in each year since 2000.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 25 February 2008
	Comprehensive estimates of all job vacancies, not just those notified to Jobcentre Plus, are available from the monthly Office for National Statistics Vacancy Survey since April 2001, based on a sample of 6,000 enterprises and are in the following table.
	
		
			  Vacancies as shown in ONS Vacancy Survey, United Kingdom 
			  Date  Number 
			 April 2001 670,900 
			 January 2002 589,100 
			 January 2003 578,400 
			 January 2004 580,200 
			 January 2005 650,400 
			 January 2006 588,300 
			 January 2007 627,700 
			 January 2008(1) 682,300 
			 (1) January 2008 data are provisional and subject to revision.  Notes: 1. Figures are seasonally adjusted. 2. Figures are based on a sample of some 6,000 enterprises. 3. Figures exclude agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. 4. The ONS survey is currently designed to provide national estimates only.  Source: Office for National Statistics Vacancy Survey, monthly estimates. 
		
	
	Comparable information on unfilled vacancies at jobcentres over time is not currently available because of changes in Jobcentre Plus procedures for taking and handling vacancies. There are around 2,010(1) unfilled vacancies at York Stonebow House jobcentre with on average 1,970(2) new vacancies being notified each month. These opportunities represent just a part of total recruitment in the local economy.
	(1) Average of unfilled vacancies over the last 12 months.
	(2) Average of vacancies notified over the last 12 months.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to publish information on the level of shortfalls experienced by  (a) existing housing benefit claimants and  (b) local housing allowance claimants by (i) number of bedrooms, (ii) local authority area and (iii) broad rental market area for each quarter of 2008-09.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions currently monitors information on shortfalls but has no immediate plans to publish this on a regular basis.
	The Department is, however, considering publication of information on average shortfalls as part of the Two Year Review of the Local Housing Allowance. The format in which this data will be published has yet to be finalised but we will give consideration to quarterly monitoring at broad market rental area level.

Housing Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will issue guidance to local authorities on identifying claimants who may be able to make a backdated claim for housing benefit or council tax benefit.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions claim forms for housing benefit and council tax benefit make it clear that benefit can be paid from an earlier date than the date the claim is received where there is good reason to do so.
	A separate section of the claim form asks customers who want to have their claims paid earlier to provide a date from which they wish to claim benefit and to provide the reasons why they have not claimed sooner.
	Local authorities can issue their own claim forms where the customer contacts them direct rather than through the Department for Work and Pensions. In these circumstances, guidance recommends that the content of those forms is similar to the Department for Work and Pensions claim forms. So in practice, customers should be offered the choice of having their claim backdated where appropriate.
	Currently claims from pensioners are automatically considered for backdating for up to 12 months.

Incapacity Benefit

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 April 2008,  Official Report, column 780W, on social security benefits, how many people were claiming incapacity benefit while living abroad in each year since 1998, broken down by reason for their claim.

Anne McGuire: The primary diagnosis does not of itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefits. Entitlement is dependent upon the medical test of incapacity for work, the Personal Capability Assessment. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Working age incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance (IB/SDA) claimants who are living abroad by primary diagnosis 
			  As at May each year 
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Certain infectious and parasitic diseases 100 100 90 80 100 100 100 90 90 100 
			 Neoplasms 100 100 220 230 250 290 310 300 320 310 
			 Diseases of the blood and blood forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism 0 100 20 20 20 20 20 10 10 10 
			 Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases 200 100 220 210 200 220 210 210 200 180 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders 1,800 1,900 2,350 2,490 2,650 2,830 2,990 3,110 3,200 3,220 
			 Diseases of the nervous system 500 400 680 720 740 800 850 900 940 930 
			 Diseases of the eye and adnexa 100 0 80 80 80 80 110 110 110 110 
			 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process 100 100 50 50 50 40 50 50 50 60 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system 800 800 1,130 1,090 1,090 1,080 1,110 1,110 1,040 1,020 
			 Diseases of the respiratory system 300 300 330 320 320 320 320 300 280 270 
			 Diseases of the digestive system 100 100 200 190 210 220 230 230 220 210 
			 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system 0 0 60 60 60 60 70 70 70 60 
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 2,400 2,300 2,330 2,440 2,570 2,730 2,860 3,010 2,990 2,980 
			 Diseases of the genitourinary system 100 100 90 100 90 90 100 100 100 100 
			 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 0 10 
			 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities 100 100 50 40 40 60 60 60 70 70 
			 Symptoms, signs and abnormal Clinical and Laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified 1,900 1,700 1,710 1,630 1,620 1,560 1,500 1,540 1,450 1,440 
			 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 400 400 520 550 600 650 690 750 750 750 
			 Others 100 100 80 70 80 90 100 110 110 100 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures prior to May 2000 are rounded to the nearest 100, and to the nearest 10 thereafter. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. IB/SDA claimant figures include all IB and SDA (including IB credits only cases). 4. Caseload figures prior to May 2000 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and rated up proportionally using 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 5. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. 6. 'Others' are those recipients not categorised in any of the above.  Source: DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. data—May 2000 onwards IAD Information Centre 5 per cent samples - May 1998 to May 1999

Incapacity Benefit: Inverness

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefit in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency in each year since 1997, broken down by reason for claim.

Anne McGuire: Information is not available prior to 2005. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Working age incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency by main primary diagnosis 
			   May 
			   2005  2006  2007 
			 Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 20 20 20 
			 Neoplasms 50 50 60 
			 Diseases of the blood and blood forming organs and certain diseases involving the immune mechanism 10 10 10 
			 Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases 50 50 60 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders 1,600 1,670 1,720 
			 Diseases of the nervous system 360 340 340 
			 Diseases of the eye and adnexa 30 30 20 
			 Diseases of the ear and mastoid process 20 20 20 
			 Diseases of the circulatory system 200 190 180 
			 Diseases of the respiratory system 70 80 70 
			 Diseases of the digestive system 60 70 70 
			 Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous system 40 30 30 
			 Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue 590 560 530 
			 Diseases of the genitourinary system 30 30 30 
			 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium 10 10 10 
			 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period 0 0 0 
			 Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities 50 50 50 
			 Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified 780 770 760 
			 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes 180 190 190 
			 Others 90 90 120 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. 4. The diagnosed condition does not of itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefits. Entitlement is dependent upon the medical test of incapacity for work, the Personal Capability Assessment. 5. 'Others' are those recipients not categorised in any of the above.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 percent WPLS

Incapacity Benefit: Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants cited  (a) myofascial pain syndrome and  (b) fibromyalgia as a main cause of their medical problem in each of the last three years; how many of each category were awarded benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many jobseeker's allowance claimants were sanctioned or disallowed in each month in 2006-07; what the main reasons for these decisions were; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many jobseeker's allowance claimants were sanctioned or disallowed in  (a) April 2007,  (b) May 2007,  (c) June 2007 and  (d) July 2007.

James Plaskitt: The information has been placed in the Library.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2008,  Official Report, column 576W, on jobseeker's allowance, how many jobseeker's allowance claimants went on holiday for  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) over four weeks in each year since 1997, broken down by region.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. A jobseeker can be treated as actively seeking work while away from home, for example on holiday, for up to two weeks in any 12-month period. As they do not need to look for work during this period no proof of job search is required, but they must remain in Great Britain and be available for work during this period in order to continue receiving jobseeker's allowance. However, jobseeker's allowance is terminated when someone goes outside the country for more than a day, unless it is for an interview. There is nothing on the jobseeker's allowance payment system datasets to identify customers on holiday in Great Britain who remain eligible for jobseeker's allowance.

New Deal Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those participants leaving the  (a) New Deal for Young People,  (b) New Deal 25 Plus,  (c) New Deal 50 Plus,  (d) New Deal for Lone Parents,  (e) New Deal for Disabled People and  (f) New Deal for Partners immediately entered (i) employment and (ii) sustainable employment in each month of the existence of each programme.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 29 February 2008
	A measure of sustainability is only available for new deal for young people, new deal 25-plus, new deal for lone parents and new deal for disabled people.
	The available information for all new deals has been placed in the Library.

Social Security Benefits: Forms

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what forms individuals seeking  (a) jobseekers allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit,  (c) housing benefit and  (d) council tax benefit are required to complete.

James Plaskitt: Claims for DWP administered working-age benefits, including incapacity benefit, jobseeker's allowance and income support are generally made via a freephone telephone call to a Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre. Clerical claim forms are also available for those customers who may have difficulty using a telephone or do not want to claim via telephone. Where a customer is also claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit, the Department forward the details to the relevant local authority.
	Pensioners making a claim for housing benefit and council tax benefit alongside pension credit are issued with a pre-populated three page claim form to check and return direct to the local authority.
	Where an individual makes their claim for housing benefit and council tax benefit direct to the local authority, the type of form they use and the process they undertake varies between each local authority area.
	For all these benefits, other forms may need to be completed depending on individual circumstances.

Social Security Benefits: Payments

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the error rate in the Accuracy of Payments System database is.

James Plaskitt: The Department's estimates of fraud and error are published in a series of reports called 'Fraud and Error in the Benefit System'. The most recent report, 'Fraud and Error in the Benefit System October 2005 to September 2006', was published in December 2007. Copies are available in the Library. The report can also be viewed on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd2/fem/fem_oct05_sep06.pdf

State Retirement Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) men and  (b) women who drew their state retirement pension when they reached state pension age in the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 20 March 2008
	By the end of March 2007 approximately 230,000 men and 320,000 women in Great Britain that had reached state pension age in 2006 were in receipt of a state pension; this is approximately 94 per cent and 87 per cent respectively of the population estimated to have reached SPA in 2006 with entitlement to a state pension and alive at the end of March 2007.
	The remaining pensioners not in receipt of a state pension will be in the process of deferring their state pension. Following a period of state pension deferral a claimant can either:
	(1) Take a lump sum that will have accrued at a rate of two percentage points above the Bank of England base rate or;
	(2) Receive extra state pension whereby an additional one per cent is added to the value of the state pension for every five weeks of deferral.

Tribunals: Employment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is issued to employment tribunals on procedures to follow in cases where a claimant has a learning disability; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	The Tribunals Service does not provide specific guidance on the provision of reasonable adjustments for people with learning disabilities attending a tribunal hearing. The Tribunals Service considers any request for a reasonable adjustment on a case by case basis as the specific requirements for each person will be different.
	However, I agree this is an important issue especially to ensure access to justice for all and so I shall ask the Head of the Tribunals Service to consider issuing guidance.

JUSTICE

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers in employment in his Department there were in each month since May 2005.

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows:
	 Part A
	The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007, bringing together the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Her Majesty's Court Service and Associated Offices, the National Offender Management Service, the Prison and Probation Services, and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
	As this is a round robin question tabled to all Departments, prior to this Machinery of Government change on 9 May 2007 the National Offender Management Service, the Prison and Probation Services, and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform are included as part of the response from the Home Office.
	 Part B
	From May 2005 up to 9 May 2007 a response for the Former DCA part of the MoJ only is included. This includes Her Majesty's Court Service, Public Guardianship Office, Tribunals Service and Associated Offices.
	Therefore figures for this response are provided in two parts.
	 Part A - MoJ 9 May 2007
	 (a) Permanent Civil Service Posts & b) Permanent Non-Civil Service Posts (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	Information on the number of posts for the whole of the MoJ is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. The only Department that holds this information is the Public Sector Prison Service. This is recorded quarterly and is included in the following table. All these posts relate to Civil Servants. Decisions as to whether the identified posts are filled by permanent or temporary staff are made locally and not recorded centrally.
	
		
			  Public Sector Prison Service 
			  Date  Planned posts permanent/non-permanent split not defined  ( FTE ) 
			 30 June 2007 50,889 
			 30 September 2007 50,669 
			 31 December 2007 51,024 
			 31 March 2008 Info not yet collated 
		
	
	Figures for Permanent Civil Service Posts (Staff in Post - FTE) are available from the Former DCA, NOMS and OCJR. Figures on permanent non-civil staff are not held centrally by these departments and can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  P ermanent civil service staff in post 
			  FTE 
			   NOMS and OCJR staffing figures  ( May 2007- March 2008 )  MOJ  s taffing figures (Former DCA) 
			 May 2007 1,684 24,339 
			 June 2007 1,672 24,418 
			 July 2007 1,660 24,237 
			 August 2007 1,656 24,144 
			 September 2007 1,669 24,068 
			 October 2007 1,685 24,075 
			 November 2007 1,727 24,004 
			 December 2007 1,733 23,939 
			 January 2008 1,725 23,906 
			 February 2008 1,747 23,908 
			 March 2008 1,750 23,781 
		
	
	 (c) Temporary or Agency workers in employment in his Department (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	For the MoJ, the Former DCA and Public Sector Prison Service can provide information only on Casual and Fixed Term appointment staff. No records of Agency or Contract staff are held centrally. NOMS and OCJR are able to provide information on both temporary and Agency Staff. These figures are in the following table:
	
		
			  FTE 
			  Month/Year  MoJ (Former DCA)  (Casual and fixed-term appointment)  NOMS  and  OCJR  (Temporary and agency workers)  Public Sector Prisons Service  (Casual and fixed-term appointment) 
			 May 2007 743 180 1,703 
			 June 2007 807 183 1,722 
			 July 2007 985 194 1,763 
			 August 2007 1,016 212 1,767 
			 September 2007 988 219 1,704 
			 October 2007 939 228 1,736 
			 November 2007 937 232 1,773 
			 December 2007 971 229 1,826 
			 January 2008 972 305 1,795 
			 February 2008 981 301 1,764 
			 March 2008 844 303 1,715 
		
	
	 Part B—Former DCA up to 9 May 2007
	 (a)  Permanent Civil Service Posts and ( b) Permanent Non-Civil Service Posts (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	This information on posts is not held centrally and could be obtained only as at a disproportionate cost.
	 (c) Temporary or Agency workers in employment in his Department (how many there were in each month since May 2005)
	The breakdown of permanent and temporary/casual staff in post has been published as part of the Office for National Statistics Quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. This is the key official source of workforce numbers for the Civil Service and provides a breakdown of permanent and temporary/casual employees by Department. Statistics on the number of contractors employed by Departments are not published. The Civil Service statistics represent those employees paid directly from the Department's payroll. Any contractors employed via agencies and so not paid directly by the Department are not included. Temporary Staff in Post figures are included in the following table.
	The Former Department of Constitutional Affairs within the Ministry Of Justice (including Her Majesty's Court Service, Public Guardianship Office, Tribunals Service and Associated Offices) have a national contract with Kelly Services Ltd. for the provision of agency staff. Information relating to workers employed through employment agencies for the Ministry of Justice and its Agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Quarter/Year  M o J (Former DCA)  (Casual and fixed-term appointment)  ( FTE ) 
			 June 2005 710 
			 September 2005 699 
			 December 2005 633 
			 March 2006 667 
			 June 2006 624 
			 September 2006 731 
			 December 2006 714 
			 March 2007 710 
			 April 2007 712

Departmental Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what  (a) surveys,  (b) questionnaires and  (c) other services were provided by polling companies for his Department in financial year 2007-08, broken down by company.

Bridget Prentice: The following tables give details of surveys, questionnaires and other services provided to the Ministry of Justice by polling companies in the financial year 2007-08.
	
		
			Type 
			  Name of the survey etc  Name of firm carrying out work  (a) Survey  (b) Questionnaire  (c) Other 
			 The courts experiences of adults with mental health problems: learning disabilities and limited mental capacity British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) — Yes (a) Face to face interviews (b) Telephone interviews (questionnaires by email) 
			 Victims advocates pilot scheme evaluation British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) — — Qualitative interviews 
			 Awareness of and development of offender management across prison and probation staff Burns and Co. Yes —  
			 Focus groups—victims of crime, leaflet Central Office of Information and Burns and Co — — Focus groups 
			 Health and social care professionals awareness of the mental capacity act (paper survey) Distribution through Binleys. Survey conducted by Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 The pro bono work of legal executives ECOTEC Research and Consulting Yes —  
			 Evaluation of alternative dispute resolution in social security and child support tribunals ECOTEC Research and Consulting — — Qualitative interviews 
			 Salford Community Justice initiative evaluation Evidence Led Solutions — — Qualitative interviews 
			 Tribunal Service customer satisfaction survey FDS International Ltd Yes —  
			 Testing of language and understanding of departmental strategic objectives with general public and staff GfK NOP through Central Office of Information Communications Yes —  
			 Sentencing and rehabilitation ICM (via omnibus questions) Yes —  
			 HMCS court user survey Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Witness and victim experience survey Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Inform, persuade, remind research Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Nottingham Community Justice public opinion poll Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Survey on tackling and preventing sexual harassment Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Tribunal service customer expectation survey Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Customer satisfaction questionnaire Ipsos MORI — Yes  
			 Beacon approach evaluation Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 General public awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (Capibus survey) Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Legal professionals awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (online survey) Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Office of Public Guardian and Court of Protection customer survey Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Constitution directorate tracker survey Ipsos MORI Yes —  
			 Opinion research, Merthyr Tydfil Community Justice project Lamajo Yes —  
			 Dedicated drug court pilots: a process report Matrix Knowledge Group — — (a) Focus groups (b) Structured interviews 
			 Reporting restrictions in the coroners courts Opinion Leader Research (OLR) — — Workshop 
			 MOJ staff satisfaction pulse survey Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) International Yes —  
			 Stock take of attitudinal data PA Consulting, Ipsos MORI — — Research review—published evidence on public attitudes to CJS 
			 Public consultation for community justice Leicester Perpetuity — — Consultation 
			 HM prison service annual staff survey Snap Survey Yes —  
			 Tracker survey of local residents, community justice centre, north Liverpool Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) — Yes  
			 Public perception of risk and protection from serious and violent crime Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) — — Focus groups 
			 Preparatory facilitation for MOJ engagement study working group Towers Perrin-ISR — — Working group facilitation 
			 Staff opinion survey/engagement study/culture audit for all MOJ staff Towers Perrin-ISR Yes —  
			 Employment tribunal mediation pilot Westminster University, fieldwork subcontracted to British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) Yes —  
		
	
	
		
			 Annex A: Additional information on purpose and costs of projects 
			  Name of the survey etc  Name of firm carrying out work  Why the work was done  Total cost 2007-08( 1)  Total cost 2007-08( 2)  Type 
			   (a)  Survey  (b)  Question  (c)  Other—give details 
			 The courts experiences of adults with mental health problems: learning disabilities and limited mental capacity British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) To map current service provision available nationally across the court system to support parties, victims and witnesses with mental health problems, learning disabilities and limited mental capacity. Qualitative work including face to face and/or phone interviews and email questionnaires. The total cost also includes other project activities such as report writing and desk research 49,856 58,581 — — Yes 
			 Victims Advocates pilot scheme evaluation British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) To evaluate the success of the Victims Advocates pilot. Qualitative interviews with practitioners and bereaved family members taking part in the scheme. 125,913 147,947 — — Yes 
			 Awareness of and development of offender management across prison and probation staff Burns and Co. Establish how staff in different organisations working in offender management will share best practice on joined-up working between custody and community. 19,500 22,912 Yes — — 
			 Focus groups—victims of crime, leaflet Central Office of Information and Burns and Co Review/improve Victims of Crime Leaflet through Focus groups (6) with victims of crime (public) and with frontline practitioners (4). 33,400 39,245 — — Yes 
			 Health and social care professionals awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (paper survey) Distribution through Binleys. survey conducted by Ipsos MORI Determine baseline data on awareness of the Mental Capacity Act among health and social care professionals prior to implementation. 24,278 28,468 Yes — — 
			 The pro bono work of legal executives ECOTEC Research and Consulting Primary purpose of this research was to estimate the extent and value of pro bono work being carried out by legal executives. However, there were some questions seeking opinions, e.g. on legal executives' feelings about carrying out pro bono work 39,813 46,780 Yes — — 
			 Evaluation of alternative dispute resolution in social security and child support tribunals ECOTEC Research and Consulting To investigate how alternative dispute resolution compares to the standard tribunal 40,000 47,000 — — Yes 
			 Salford Community Justice initiative evaluation Evidence Led Solutions Evaluation of the implementation of the Salford Community Justice project. Included research of opinion of community members. Multiple year project.  24,075 — — Yes 
			 Tribunal Service customer satisfaction survey FDS International Ltd To inform key performance indicator on customer satisfaction. (3)— (3)— Yes — — 
			 Testing of language and understanding of departmental strategic objectives with general public and staff GfK NOP through Central Office of Information Communications Testing of language and understanding of departmental strategic objectives. Involving survey with 500 members of the public, six mini focus groups with citizens and four staff workshops. 31,200 36,660 Yes — — 
			 Sentencing and rehabilitation ICM (via omnibus questions) To gauge public awareness of, and support public information on community sentencing. 7,165 8,419 Yes — — 
			 HMCS Court User Survey Ipsos MORI To elicit levels of court user satisfaction with standards or customer service and other key service issues across the High Court, the Crown, county and magistrates courts and associated offices. (3)— (3)— Yes — — 
			 Witness and victim experience survey Ipsos MORI To gather consistent and comparable local and national data on victim and witness satisfaction with Criminal Justice System agencies in cases that resulted in a prosecution. (3)— (3)— Yes — — 
			 Inform, persuade, remind research Ipsos MORI To test the impact of an information booklet upon public confidence in the Criminal Justice System. 20,000 23,500 Yes — — 
			 Nottingham Community Justice public opinion poll Ipsos MORI Consultation to gauge public opinion of the criminal justice system in St Ann's and Aspley via two telephone survey waves.  32,000 Yes — — 
			 Survey on tackling and preventing sexual harassment Ipsos MORI To provide detailed picture of the incidence and nature of sexual harassment amongst prison staff and to assist the Prison Service to deliver on its commitment to tackle inappropriate behaviour. 32,708 38,431 Yes — — 
			 Tribunal Service customer expectation survey Ipsos MORI Survey originally commissioned by Appeals Service. It was adapted to cover a different purpose in testing customer perception and expectation across the a number of jurisdictions. 37,000 43,475 Yes — — 
			 Customer satisfaction questionnaire Ipsos MORI To develop a questionnaire to survey complainants regarding customer satisfaction. 49,856 58,581 — Yes — 
			 Beacon approach evaluation Ipsos MORI To independently assess the success of the Approach in promoting new ways of working with local Community Justice boards. 54,380 63,897 Yes — — 
			 General public awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (Capibus survey) Ipsos MORI Determine baseline data on awareness of the Mental Capacity Act among the general public prior to implementation. 22,280 26,179 Yes — — 
			 Legal professionals awareness of the Mental Capacity Act (online survey) Ipsos MORI Determine baseline data on awareness of the Mental Capacity Act among legal professionals prior to implementation. 7,800 9,165 Yes — — 
			 Office of Public Guardian and Court of Protection customer survey Ipsos MORI To provide quantitative baseline data on Office of Public Guardian and Court services as perceived by users. The results for the initial baseline survey will establish where improvements can/need to be made and will lay foundations to make improvements to the Office of Public Guardian and Court services, in addition to setting an appropriate Key Performance Indicator target for customer satisfaction. 25,981 30,528 Yes — — 
			 Constitution Directorate tracker survey Ipsos MORI Periodic "tracker" survey to monitor public knowledge and opinion on a range of issues related to constitution, democracy and rights. 50,565 50,565 Yes — — 
			 Opinion research, Merthyr Tydfil Community Justice project Lamajo Consultation to gauge public opinion of the criminal justice system in Merthyr Tydfil including surveys, questionnaires and focus groups.  24,000 Yes — — 
			 Dedicated drug court pilots: a process report Matrix Knowledge Group As part of an independent evaluation of the two Dedicated Drug Court pilots commissioned in order to assess the impact of the model and to inform key stakeholders of the value of this specialist approach to drug-related offending. As a part of evaluation of pilots focus groups and structured interviews were carried out. 94,173 110,653 — — Yes 
			 Reporting restrictions in the coroners courts Opinion Leader Research (OLR) Preparation, facilitation and hosting of workshop on reporting restrictions proposals in the Coroners Bill to reach a consensus among key stakeholders on the best way forward. 6,830 8,025 — — Yes 
			 MOJ staff satisfaction pulse survey Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) International To assess progress and improvements against action plans implemented following the full staff opinion survey carried out 12 months previously. 21,220 24,934 Yes — — 
			 Stock take of attitudinal data PA Consulting, Ipsos MORI To inform the development the Criminal Justice System strategic plan 2008-11 through review of research and other published evidence on public attitudes to the Criminal Justice System. 4,725 5,552 — — Yes 
			 Public consultation for Community Justice Leicester Perpetuity To gauge public opinion of the criminal justice system in the area covered by the project. 25,532 30,000 — — Yes 
			 HM Prison Service annual staff survey Snap Survey It is the Prison Service's annual staff opinion survey. 9,234 10,849 Yes — — 
			 Tracker survey of local residents, Community Justice Centre, north Liverpool Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Part of an evaluation of community justice scheme to measure impact of scheme on local residents. Multiple year project. 20,162 23,690 — Yes — 
			 Public perception of risk and protection from serious and violent crime Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) These focus group discussions on awareness of public protection arrangements (sexual and violent offenders) explored ways of providing public information. This was to inform work of the National Offender Management Service public protection unit and a MoJ strategic review of public protection, and to gauge public understanding of current arrangements, including Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements and Approved Premises, to protect them from violent and sexual offenders. 12,000 14,100 — — Yes 
			 Preparatory facilitation for MOJ engagement study working group Towers Perrin-ISR Facilitation and development of an effective working group to ensure that they all clearly understand their roles and responsibilities and are all in a position to take forward activities within their respective business units relating to the development, design, administration, communications, and post-results action planning/monitoring of achievements of the planned staff opinion survey/engagement study (now to include additionally culture audit). Start January 2008, completion by March 2008. 24,500 28,788 — — Yes 
			 Staff opinion survey/engagement study/culture audit for all MoJ staff Towers Perrin-ISR (i) To conduct a staff opinion survey for 30,000 former DCA/NOMS/OCJR staff —meeting the requirement to provide Cabinet Office with core survey data. (ii) To develop an index for measuring levels of employee engagement within MoJ. (iii) To test our assumptions around the key drivers for engagement using the Cabinet Office Model—Say-Stay-Strive. Multiple year project. 30,000 35,250 Yes — — 
			 Employment tribunal mediation pilot Westminster University, fieldwork sub-contracted to British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) To assess effectiveness of judicial mediation in the employment tribunal. 43,800 51,465 Yes — — 
			963,871 1,203,714
			 (1) Excluding VAT (2) Including VAT (3) Costing information is not supplied as this is commercial in confidence. This survey is subject to periodic re-tendering and release of the costings.

Disabled

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what targets his Department has set in relation to its employment of people with disabilities over the next five years.

Michael Wills: As a result of the establishment of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, we are currently in the process of revising our diversity targets for all under-represented groups, which will include setting targets for our staff with disabilities.
	The timetable for setting the Department's targets will be determined by guidance from the Cabinet Office, which is due late summer 2008.

Fixed Penalties

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many of each category of fixed penalty notices were  (a) issued and  (b) paid in each month since their introduction in each police force area;
	(2)  how many on-the-spot fines have been issued in each police area.

Maria Eagle: The most recent available information on motoring fixed penalty notices as well as data on penalty notices for disorder (PNDS) covering the years 2004 to 2006 have been provided in my earlier answer of 18 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1288W.
	Additionally, data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for environmental offences are available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) via the following web link:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/legislation/fpn/index.htm

Gloucester Prison

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make a statement on the recent report of the Independent Monitoring Board on Gloucester Prison; and what the implications of its recommendations are for the future of the prison.

Maria Eagle: I am very grateful to the Independent Monitoring Board for the work they do on behalf of Gloucester prison. The report is thorough and generally very positive; highlighting several areas of recognised good practice and acknowledging Gloucester's achievements in gaining level 4 status and receiving the most improved prison award in 2007. I will formally respond to the report shortly.
	Gloucester continues to perform well in key areas, despite the physical constraints of Victorian buildings and a town centre location, and I have no reason to suppose that it will not continue to do so. The governor and staff are committed to maintaining and improving upon this performance, providing the best possible opportunities for prisoners to address their offending behaviour in a supportive and safe environment.

JP Morgan and Zurich Financial Services

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much his Department and its predecessors paid to JP Morgan in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of each payment was;
	(2)  how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Zurich Financial Services in each year since 1997; and what the purpose of the payment was in each case.

Bridget Prentice: The responses covering each part of the Ministry are as follows:
	 Former DCA/MOJ
	Since 1 April 2005, there have been no payments made by the former DCA to either JP Morgan or Zurich Financial Services.
	Data prior to 1 April 2005 may be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
	 HMCS
	Since 1 April 2005, there have been no payments made by HMCS to either JP Morgan or Zurich Financial Services.
	Data prior to 1 April 2005 may be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
	 Tribunals
	Since the launch of the Tribunals Service in April 2006, there have been no payments made to either JP Morgan or Zurich Financial Services within the Executive agency.
	 Office of the Public Guardian (PGO/OPG)
	The PGO/OPG paid £68,823.09 to JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management in 2001. Payment was in respect of consulting on investment matters. No other payments have been made to JP Morgan by the OPG.
	There have been no payments made by PGO to Zurich Financial Services.
	 Offi ce of Criminal Justice Reform (O CJR)
	The OCJR only have expenditure data starting from 1 April 2004. Since that date, there have been no payments made by OCJR to either JP Morgan or Zurich Financial Services.
	 National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
	NOMS are only able to provide this information at disproportionate costs, as it would require first identifying payments to these suppliers (which could not be done if it was through a broker), and then looking up the invoice to try and identify the purpose.
	 Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS)
	There have been no payments made by HMPS to JP Morgan.
	HMPS paid Zurich Financial Services £5,000 in January 2005 and £3,000 in November 2007. Both payments were in respect of insurance services.

Personal Injury

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish his conclusions in relation to his Department's consultation Case Track Limits and the Claims Process.

Bridget Prentice: The Response to Consultation is nearing completion and will be published as soon as possible.

Police Custody: Young People

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juveniles were held overnight in custody in police cells in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: Since October 2006, the Government have used police cells in significant numbers to help manage pressure in the prison population. The Government's policy, however, is that juveniles should only be held overnight in police cells in the most exceptional circumstances. Our records indicate that since October 2006, no juveniles have been held overnight in police cells in Tamworth or in the rest of Staffordshire. Data prior to this cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many injuries sustained by juvenile and young adult offenders held in  (a) young offender institutions and  (b) secure children's homes during restrictive physical interventions required hospital treatment in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Young adults are not placed in secure children's homes. The Youth Justice Board has been collecting restraint data against common definitions across the secure estate since April 2007. The following table shows the requested information for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 January 2008 in relation to under-18 young offender institutions and secure children's homes. Information on injuries to young adults in senior young offender institutions is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Establishment type  Injuries needing hospital treatment 
			 Young offender institutions 2 
			 Secure children's homes 0 
			  Source: Data supplied by the Youth Justice Board from administrative computer systems

Young Offenders: Mentally Ill

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young people in custody have been diagnosed with mental health problems.

David Hanson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 28 January 2008,  Official Report, column 153W.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children in Care: Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what targets his Department has set to improve the educational outcomes of children in care; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: For CSR2007 there are three public service agreement targets for the educational achievement of looked after children (LAC). These are that:
	60 per cent. of LAC to obtain level 4 at key stage 2 in English by 2011;
	55 per cent. of LAC to obtain level 4 at key stage 2 in maths by 2011; and
	20 per cent. of LAC at key stage 4 to obtain five GSCEs graded A*-C (or equivalent), by 2011.
	These targets are reflected in the statutory targets for local authorities that form part of the new National Indicator Set.
	Not enough progress has been made on improving the educational achievement of LAC. They often face a wide range of barriers to learning that most children do not experience. However, we are determined to do more and improving the education of LAC is a top priority. It is key to improving their life chances and a successful transition to adulthood.
	We have set out our intentions in "Care Matters: Time for Change" and the implementation plan "Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care" published by the Government with the Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Children's Services, on Wednesday 26 March 2008.

Children in Care: Missing Persons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) children and  (b) asylum-seeking children went missing from local authority care in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The numbers of children looked after who went missing from local authority care in each of the last five years are shown in the following tables.
	 (a) The number of children looked after who went missing from care for 24 hours or more, in each of the years ending 31 March 2003 to 2007, including asylum-seeking children, was as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 990 
			 2004 730 
			 2005 860 
			 2006 890 
			 2007 950 
		
	
	These figures account for all children looked after excluding children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.
	 (b) The number of asylum-seeking children who went missing from care for 24 hours or more, in each of the years ending 31 March 2003 to 2007, was as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2003 70 
			 2004 50 
			 2005 70 
			 2006 110 
			 2007 90 
		
	
	For both answers above, where a child went missing from his or her agreed placement, for 24 hours or more, on more than one occasion during the same year, he or she has been counted only once.

Children: Databases

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much the ContactPoint database has cost to date; and how much has been budgeted to complete the project.

Kevin Brennan: Approximately £103 million has been spent to date on the ContactPoint project.
	The estimated set-up cost of ContactPoint is £224 million (most of which is expected to be incurred by the end of the financial year 2009-10). This includes: the costs of adapting existing systems that will supply data to ContactPoint and the costs of ensuring that data are accurate; adapting the day-to-day systems used by practitioners so they can access ContactPoint from them; and the costs of introducing robust arrangements to ensure proper security, and effective ContactPoint user training.
	Thereafter, estimated operating costs will be £41 million per year. Most of this will pay for the additional staff needed to ensure the ongoing security, accuracy and audit of ContactPoint.

Children: Databases

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) linkages and  (b) cross checks are proposed between data records of individuals on (i) the ContactPoint database and (ii) other Government databases.

Kevin Brennan: ContactPoint will hold, for each child or young person in England:
	basic identifying information: name, address, gender, date of birth and a unique identifying number;
	contact details for the child's parent or carer;
	contact details for services involved with the child: as a minimum school and GP practice, but also other services where appropriate; and
	the facility for practitioners to indicate to others if they are a lead professional, and have undertaken a common assessment, in relation to a child.
	There are no links in a child record to any other family members apart from the parent/carer details above. For safeguarding purposes, practitioners can make use of a facility in ContactPoint to search for previous and current co-residing children from a child record. In limited circumstances, details revealing the whereabouts of a child/young person and/or their parent/carer can be 'shielded'. The decisions to 'shield' will be taken case by case, based on the level of threat posed if information about their whereabouts was to be revealed.
	To ensure ContactPoint records are as accurate and up-to-date as possible, ContactPoint will cross-check, match and remove duplication of fragments of data received from a range of local and national data sources. These national data sources include a number of government departments, namely the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Children, Schools and Families, Department of Health and Office for National Statistics. This is a one way process. No data will be supplied to another system from ContactPoint nor will users be able to access any other systems via ContactPoint.
	To support the Data Protection Act 1998, there will be mechanisms in place to notify data sources where discrepancies occur between differently sourced fragments. In doing so, the contents of ContactPoint records will not be shared with data sources.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recommendations from the Laming report into the death of Victoria Climbie have yet to be implemented.

Kevin Brennan: This Government launched a radical programme of reform in response to Lord Laming's Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié. Through the Children Act 2004 we have put in place a much stronger framework for children's services and particularly for safeguarding children. The Government's detailed response to the recommendations of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report was set out in "Keeping Children Safe" which was published in 2003, alongside the Green Paper "Every Child Matters". The actions the Government committed to undertaking in response to Lord Laming's recommendations have been carried out or are ongoing, an exception is the revision of guidance on the Children Act 1989. Volume 1, on Court Orders, has been revised and published, and many of the key messages which "Keeping Children Safe" said were to be incorporated in the revised Children Act 1989 guidance have been incorporated into other guidance documents and standards. We plan to revise further volumes of the 1989 guidance next year, taking into account commitments announced in Care Matters: Time for Change, proposed legislative changes through the Children and Young Person's Bill currently going through Parliament, and proposed revisions to the National Minimum Standards for children's social care.

Departmental Advertising

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department spent on publicity and advertising in 2007-08.

Kevin Brennan: Promotional campaigns, including those using advertising, are funded from the Department's central advertising and publicity budget and from individual programme budgets held by policy directorates. The Department employs advertising agencies and public relations agencies for specific communications tasks, most commonly working alongside our press office to provide local and regional campaign support.
	Once all payments have been finalised, the predicted spend from the advertising and publicity budget for 2007-08 is £11.8 million. In addition to funding promotional campaigns, this budget also covers a wide range of other publicity activity (including magazine production and infrastructure costs such as mailing and storage of departmental publications).
	The spend on promotional campaigns from individual policy directorate programmes cannot be separately identified, except at disproportionate cost.
	However, it is possible to separate all the Department's spend on advertising and publicity, as this is centrally placed through the Central Office of Information. For 2007-08, the Department spent £1,567,144 on PR and £5,160,218 on advertising.

Departmental Alcoholic Drinks

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families at how many events held by his Department  (a) wine and  (b) Fairtrade wine were served in the last three years; and what assessment his Department has made of the merits of serving Fairtrade wine at future events.

Kevin Brennan: Data on the number of events held by this Department where  (a) wine was served and  (b) Fairtrade wine was served are not held centrally. Gathering this information would be at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department has adopted the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management Programme or plans to do so in the next 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: The Carbon Trust completed a review of our Headquarters estate in 2006. Their findings have been adopted within our Sustainable Operations Environmental Management System carbon management action plans. The Department did not take up the Carbon Trust carbon management programme on the basis that these reviews had been undertaken.

Departmental Carbon Emissions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department met the target in the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate initiative to reverse the upward trend in carbon dioxide emissions by April 2007.

Kevin Brennan: I am pleased to report that the Department has met the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate target to reverse the upward trend in carbon emissions by April 2007.

Departmental Cost-effectiveness

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress his Department has made in its zero-based budget review under the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the annex pertaining to my Department in "Meeting the aspirations of the British people: the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review" (Cm 7227).
	In addition to this, my Department published its delivery agreement at the end of 2007. This delivery agreement explains how my Department will achieve its value for money efficiency gains during the comprehensive spending review 2007 (CSR07) which covers the period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The document details the major reforms, changes and initiatives the Department intends to undertake in order to achieve its savings ambition. This document is available on our website at:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/
	The Department will report further progress under the CSR07 through existing departmental reporting processes.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on the most recent redesign and implementation of his Departmental website.

Kevin Brennan: The most recent redesign and implementation of the Department's website cost £6,345.

Departmental Manpower

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) temporary or agency workers in employment there were in his Department in each month since May 2005.

Kevin Brennan: The Department was formed as part of the Machinery of Government changes announced on 28 June 2007, so figures are only available from July 2007 as set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Permanent civil servants  Permanent non-civil servants  Temp civil servants  Agency workers 
			 July 2007 2,919  11 17 
			 August 2007 2,908  10 18 
			 September 2007 2,919 1 12 9 
			 October 2007 2,919 1 17 19 
			 November 2007 2,908 4 15 42 
			 December 2007 2,900 3 14 49 
			 January 2008 2,857 3 14 62 
			 February 2008 2,846 4 12 75 
			 March 2008 2,781 4 12 73

Departmental Pay

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost of  (a) salaries for permanent Civil Service posts,  (b) salaries for permanent non-Civil Service posts and  (c) payments to temporary or agency workers in his Department was in each month since May 2005.

Kevin Brennan: The Department was set up in 28 June 2008. The information is not available centrally in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the annual spend to 31 March 2008 for permanent civil service posts was £120 million including overtime, and temporary and agency workers was £1.9 million and £0.8 million respectively.
	The Department has no permanent non-civil service posts.

Departmental Property

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many residential properties his Department owns; how many of these are vacant; and how many of these have been vacant for longer than  (a) three,  (b) six and  (c) 12 months.

Kevin Brennan: The Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families does not own any residential properties.

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many days sick leave were taken on average by staff in his Department and its predecessor in each of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The average number of sick days for staff in my Department is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Calendar Year( 1)  Average number days lost through sick leave per staff year 
			 2007 9.3 
			 2006 8.4 
			 2005 8.9 
			 2004 9.0 
			 2003 10.3 
			 (1) Figures for calendar years 2003-06 relate to the former DFES. The figure for calendar year 2007 relates to the DCSF over a six month period only (July-December).

Departmental Sick Leave

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many of his Department's staff took more than  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15,  (d) 20,  (e) 25,  (f) 30,  (g) 35 and  (h) 40 days leave due to stress in each of the last five years, broken down by pay grade.

Kevin Brennan: The breakdown of days sickness absence due to stress in the Department could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Department normally collects the information quarterly. For the last recorded six months period (July to December 2007), 15 per cent. of all working days lost due to sickness absence could be attributed to stress-related conditions.
	The Department has put in place a range of measures to support managers and employees on health and well-being issues, including the provision of professional counselling and support from the Department's Employee Assistance Provider, Right Corecare. The Department has also piloted a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Stress Questionnaire in one part of the organisation and conducted Individual Stress Risk Assessments for employees who require them. It will shortly be launching a comprehensive Stress Prevention Policy, based on HSE Management Standards.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department's updated Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) for 2008-10 is due for publication at the end of April 2008. This will include our sustainable operations policy statement and an associated delivery plan will track our progress towards meeting the Government's targets for sustainable operation of the estate.

Departmental Sustainable Development

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department is on course to meet Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate targets  (a) to source at least 10 per cent. of its electricity from renewables by 31 March 2008 and  (b) to increase recycling figures to 40 per cent. of waste by 2010.

Kevin Brennan: The latest published information on Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate report for 2007 noted that my previous Department the Department for Education and Skills achieved the following results:
	 (a) good progress made on the target to source at least 10 per cent. of electricity from renewables by 31 March 2008 and noted as being on track.
	 (b) excellent progress made on the target to recycle 40 per cent. of waste by 2010 with the target already met.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in his Department have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Kevin Brennan: In the last 12 months, my Department has funded the following places on the National School for Government events tabled as follows:
	
		
			  Event  Place  Total cost (£) 
			 Influencing with Integrity None 0 
			 Emotional Intelligence None 0 
			 Counselling Skills in the Workplace 1 1,115 
			 Managing your Confidence None 0 
			 Balancing Work/Life Realities None 0 
			 Working Assertively 2 1,452 
		
	
	The total spend on these events was £2,567.

Departmental Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many hours  (a) in total and  (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in his Department in the last year for which records are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information is not held centrally in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Contracted hours for the majority of full-time members of staff based in London are 41 hours per week. Full-time employees based outside London, work a 42 hour week. Employees can work more than these hours and flexible arrangements are in place to allow people to take time off at a later date or to compensate them. A number of employees also work part-time.

Departmental Written Questions

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many written Questions to his Department had not received an Answer as at 25 February 2008 for  (a) between two and four,  (b) between four and six,  (c) between six and eight and  (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer.

Kevin Brennan: The Department received a total number of 2,224 PQs during the period covering 6 November 2007 to 25 February 2008. According to our records, the breakdown of questions, at least two weeks old, that had not received an answer on 25 February 2008 was as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Commons named day  Commons written  Total 
			  (a) 2-4 weeks 2 5 7 
			  (b) 4-6 weeks 1 2 3 
			  (c) 6-8 weeks 0 0 0 
			  (d) More than 8 weeks 1 8 9 
			 Total 4 15 19

Disabled

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what targets his Department has set in relation to its employment of people with disabilities over the next five years.

Kevin Brennan: For the period following the implementation of the Cabinet Office 10 point plan, my Department has set challenging targets for the employment of disabled staff at senior civil service level, our current target of 4 per cent. exceeds Cabinet Office guidance.
	The Department is currently looking at our workforce planning for the next five years and will be setting challenging targets for all grades shortly.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department has taken on  (a) domestic violence and  (b) forced marriage since the coming into force of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2003.

Kevin Brennan: Keeping children and young people safe is a top priority for this Government and the Department. We have introduced new legislation, new guidance and new structures to make children safer.
	The Children Act 2004 put in place a much stronger framework for children's services and for safeguarding children in particular. This Act gave a range of statutory agencies a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Statutory guidance, "Making arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children under section 11 of the Children Act 2004", issued in July 2005 and updated in March 2007, is aimed at the police, hospitals, prisons and others covered by the requirement and sets out what they should do to make sure children are safe. The guidance makes clear for example that police need to identify vulnerable children in domestic violence cases, and that housing authorities need to consider the safety of children when they are offering help in domestic violence cases.
	"Working Together to Safeguard Children", published in April 2006, is the Government's main interagency guide to safeguarding. This explains what is meant by forced marriage, makes clear that it comes under the definition of domestic violence, and stresses the need for professionals to be aware of the strong links between domestic violence and child protection concerns and to take appropriate action.
	This Government have also created statutory local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) to co-ordinate what local bodies do to safeguard children and to ensure that they are working effectively together. We have also required local authorities to have lead members and directors who are clearly accountable for their children's services.
	The cross-Government "Staying Safe: Action Plan", published in February 2008, sets out specific commitments to help tackle forced marriage and domestic violence. The Action Plan is underpinned by the new public service agreement to improve children and young people's safety.
	Working with the forced marriage unit, we will develop materials on the issue of forced marriage specifically for use by schools and tailored to young people and we will actively encourage schools to use them. DCSF Ministers will shortly be writing to all schools and local authorities reminding them of their responsibilities and of the existing guidance—both general safeguarding children guidance and the specific forced marriage guidance for education professionals, issued jointly with the forced marriage unit. We will also set out our plans to consult on revised forced marriage guidance which will then be placed on a statutory footing this autumn.

Domestic Violence: Finance

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department has spent on work on  (a) domestic violence and  (b) forced marriage since 2003; and what budget allocations have been made for each in the next three years.

Kevin Brennan: Expenditure on safeguarding children from domestic violence and forced marriage is met principally by local authorities from general funding.
	The then Department for Education and Skills took over certain policy responsibilities from the Department of Health in 2003 and with this came responsibility for grants to the Women's Aid Federation of England (WAFE) which related to domestic violence. Under the section 64 grant scheme WAFE received £300,000 between 2003-04 and 2006-07, plus WAFE received £49,000 per year between 2003-04 and 2007-08 as a contribution to the National Domestic Violence Helpline service.
	In addition, the Department currently provides funding under the Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) grant scheme to two domestic violence related projects. 'Daybreak Family Group Conferences' are funded for a project that aims to address the impact of domestic violence on the safety and welfare of children and their chances of achieving their full potential. The funding amounts to £283,000 over three years (2006-07 to 2008-09). WAFE currently receives funding to develop and raise the profile of support for women and children as victims of domestic violence. CYPF grant funding for WAFE is £120,000 over two years (2007-08 to 2008-09).
	The Department is also committed to continued close working with the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Home Office Forced Marriage Unit to revise the forced marriage guidance issued in 2005 and place this on a statutory footing. We are also working with the Forced Marriage Unit to develop materials on the issue of forced marriage specifically for use by schools and tailored to young people.

Fairtrade Initiative

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will take steps to promote Fair Trade Fortnight 2008 amongst staff within his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has an agreement with our catering supplier that a selection of Fairtrade food and drink products shall be available throughout all their catering operations—this will apply during fair trade fortnight. A range of internal communications channels will be used to promote fair trade fortnight to staff.

Forced Marriage

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what monitoring and evaluation his Department carries out on the implementation of its guidance on forced marriages; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: "Working Together to Safeguard Children" (April 2006), the main interagency guide to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and "Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education" (November 2006), consolidated guidance on recruitment in education settings, explain what is meant by forced marriage, make clear that it comes under the definition of domestic violence, and advise that if there are concerns that a child is at risk of forced marriage, local agencies and professionals should contact the Forced Marriage Unit, the police and children's social care.
	"Working Together" provides a link to the guidance produced by the Forced Marriage Unit and partners, and "Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education" signposts specifically to the guidance for education professionals, "Dealing with Cases of Forced Marriage". This was issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Education and Skills, and Home Office in 2005. DCSF will be working with the Forced Marriage Unit to revise the existing forced marriage guidance and place it on a statutory footing this autumn.
	Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) are responsible for co-ordinating what is done by each person or body represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for that purpose. The effectiveness of the LSCB itself should form part of the judgment of the inspectorates, particularly through the Joint Area Review (JAR).
	As part of Ofsted inspections, schools are judged on whether they are meeting their statutory requirements on safeguarding.
	The current system of local authority inspection (Joint Area Reviews and Annual Performance Assessments of children's services) will be replaced by Comprehensive Area Assessments from 2009. This was announced in the 2006 Local Government White Paper, "Strong and Prosperous Communities".
	This will mean few rolling programmes of inspection of local authority services, with most inspections triggered on an authority-specific basis following an annual risk assessment. The case for separate programmed inspection of safeguarding is currently being considered and a decision will be made in spring 2008.
	The Local Government White Paper made clear that any such programmes will incorporate proportionality in individual inspections. For more information on the new Comprehensive Area Assessments see:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovemment/performanceframeworkpartnerships

Health Education: Alcoholic Drinks

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will hold discussions with Alcoholics Anonymous on educating school children on alcoholism and alcohol abuse.

Kevin Brennan: The Department is working on a Youth Alcohol Action Plan, which will look at what more might be done to reduce excessive drinking by young people. I have asked my officials to get in touch with Alcoholics Anonymous to make sure this work takes account of their views and expertise..

Inclusive Technology

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2008,  Official Report, column 692W, what payments his Department and its predecessor made to Inclusive Technology in each year between 1997-98 and 2005-06.

Kevin Brennan: Our financial records show that the Department has not made any payments to Inclusive Technology in the last seven years. The Department is not required to keep financial records beyond that period.

Karian and Box

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the value was of each contract awarded by his Department and its predecessors to Karian and Box since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: Our financial records show that the Department has not made any payments to Karian and Box in the last seven years. The Department is not required to keep financial records beyond that period.

Primary Education: School Meals

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to increase access to healthy school meals in primary schools in  (a) West Lancashire constituency and  (b) England.

Kevin Brennan: The Department is taking a number of steps to improve the quality of meals served in primary schools and to ensure all children have access to healthy food while at school.
	New food-based nutritional standards were introduced in September 2006 for school lunches and from September 2007 for other school food. Nutrient-based standards will be introduced for school lunches in September 2008 for primary schools and September 2009 for secondary schools.
	School lunch take-up is a priority as demonstrated by the fact that it is one of the indicators in the new Child Health PSA and is one of the indicators in the National Indicator Set.
	The School Food Trust was established in 2005 to support the implementation of changes in school food in England. One of their key targets is to increase take-up of school meals and they have launched their Million Meals Campaign to encourage schools to increase school lunch take-up.
	The Government are also investing around £650 million of additional funding between 2005 and 2011 to help support the drive towards improved school food. Lancashire has already received £5,322,666 of that funding between 2005 and 2008 and will receive a further £1,777,973 in 2008-09.

Pupils: Epilepsy

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many children with epilepsy were educated in mainstream primary and secondary schools in England in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made in its planning, policy and guidance for the education sector on the effects of epilepsy on a child's learning;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the merits of implementing statutory training requirements for those working with children who have epilepsy;
	(4)  whether his Department plans to make the collection of data regarding the number of children with epilepsy in schools mandatory at local authority level.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not collect data on epilepsy in schools and has no plans to make the collection of data regarding the number of children with epilepsy in schools mandatory at local authority level. It has also made no assessment of the impact of epilepsy on a child's learning or the need for statutory training requirements for those working with children who have epilepsy.
	Schools and their employers have responsibilities towards the health and safety of all staff and pupils, and this may include making arrangements for individual pupils with medical needs, where it is reasonable to do so. There is, however, no legal duty on school staff to manage a pupil's medicine or support a child's medical need. However, our guidance 'Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings' issued by this Department jointly with the Department of Health, encourages schools and local authorities to develop local policies on the management of pupils' medicines and on supporting pupils with medical needs, taking account of local resources and their various responsibilities. It specifically addresses what schools can do to help children with epilepsy and other medical conditions. We also produced sister guidance entitled 'Including me: managing complex health needs in schools and early years settings,' both were published in 2005.
	An individual health care plan can help staff identify the necessary safety measures to support children with medical needs and may reveal the need for staff to have further information about a medical condition or specific training. The employer should arrange appropriate training in collaboration with local health services.

Pupils: Epilepsy

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the number of children with epilepsy who have special educational needs; and if his Department will consider recognising epilepsy as a condition that may cause special educational needs.

Kevin Brennan: Children have special educational needs (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. Epilepsy is a medical condition which may be a cause of, or exist alongside, a learning difficulty necessitating special educational provision. In these cases, we would expect schools and local authorities to identify the need and make appropriate provision.
	The Department does not collect information on the number of pupils with SEN who also have epilepsy.

Schools: Playgrounds

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what funding his Department provided to the School Playgrounds Scheme in each of the last five years; and what plans he has further to fund the scheme in the next three years.

Kevin Brennan: The Department has supported Sporting Playgrounds, a primary playground development scheme, since 2001. The scheme refurbishes existing primary school playgrounds to enhance opportunities for sporting activity. Over 600 primary school playgrounds have been developed since the programme began. Funding has been in four phases, as follows:
	
		
			   Funding (£) 
			 2001 to 2004 310,000 
			 2003 to 2005 10,000,000 
			 2005-06 2,000,000 
			 2007-08 75,000 
		
	
	There are no plans to fund the Sporting Playgrounds programme over the next three years.
	As part of the biggest ever investment in play, £225 million has been made available through the Children's plan to build and improve public play areas nationally over the next three years. Investment in school playgrounds is also part of schools capital funding, where £21.9 billion has been allocated over the next three years, including to the Building Schools for the Future and Primary Capital programmes. Further, almost £1 billion a year goes to schools directly for them to use for their own priorities, including their grounds and playgrounds.